Valour Guardians 7: That Which Hides In Shadows
by typhoonboom08
Summary: When Wade is accepted as an apprentice to Bulma Briefs, Kim accompanies her friend, only to find herself struck by a life she'd forgotten. Meanwhile, as her returning memories leave Kim struggling with the mental backlash, Vlad Plasmius has returned with his sights set on ensuring the Guardians never return and his first target is her.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hey everyone, welcome back to the series. For those who saw the old VG7, sorry, but I decided to scrap it. To put it simply, I didn't like where it was heading and I don't want to flood this series with with DC. So I've moved it in a different direction that I like a lot more. I have recycled what I could from the old story, but there's plenty of new or edited stuff in there and that's only in the first six chapters. New or old reader, I hope you enjoy it.

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**The Planning Pariah**

Many great things came from the sacrifice made by the Guardians after the battle with Maleficent and her forces, that could be seen by anyone who remembered the disaster that occurred. A planet that was overrun and consumed by the Heartless, just moments from eternal darkness destined to spread and destroy all that exists, was restored to its former radiance and a great many Heartless were eradicated, finally returning their stolen hearts to their true owners. All those involved agreed, it was well worth the sacrifice of memories and established bonds of all those around the world.

However, the removal of those bonds and memories did still lead to chaos, at least for a time. Information, formations and much more was lost along with the connections between the societies, leaving large gaps and confusion in the lives and business of everyone and they didn't know why. These hiccups and were quickly resolved of course, the magical societies, the normal Governments and all other groups returning to the routines and procedures they knew and followed back before the Guardians formed and united them all. Before long, for most it was as if their alliances and shared societies never existed.

However, the time of that chaos made the perfect openings for many undesirable people, both aware of the change and those who'd circum to the altered memories alike. And this included none other than Vlad Plasmius.

The sudden gaps and confusion in world security and observation procedures made it easy for the cunning ghost hybrid to slip back into the revitalised Earth and with his powers, knowledge and his memories still completely intact, having being well beyond the Dimensional Witch's powers from his place out in space at the time of their unleash, he was able to move and scheme throughout the human and magical worlds without any difficulty whatsoever. It wasn't long before he'd managed to get a small fortune and a hidden base of operations back under his control, from which he watched and planned.

Sitting back in a chair that the word throne would probably more accurately describe, Vlad couldn't hold back a sad and angry sigh as one of his monitors showed him an image of Maddie Fenton alternating between writing down notes for a Ghost Hunting Guide she intended to publish and staring longingly at a picture of her children sitting on her desk, courtesy of one of his many spy cams creeping around the world. She'd never be his now, never love him, that was guaranteed. He'd revealed every last one of his old cards during that meteor fiasco, both to the world and to Jack specifically. Maddie knew everything about him and would never so much as smile at him ever again, with the only possible exception of him being in her crosshairs.

To finally admit that had almost completely crushed him. If he were a full ghost, it would have, his biggest obsession was annihilated. But he was still alive and the living could develop new desires, even core obsessions, and so he pressed on.

"Oh Maddie. Perhaps one day I will finally manage to have you at my side. Even if I have to force you there." He sighed again, letting his adoring stare linger on her for a few more moments before finally changing the screen. "But unfortunately, until then, I have other business to attend to."

That he did. His goal of gaining Maddie's love was gone, but he was determined to make the world pay for it. He would regain the power and control he'd lost and more. He would succeed at gaining Daniel at his side, whether by trickery or force, and he would succeed in taking the world as his own, just as he had before the meteor proved to be untouchable. He would become the most powerful man on the planet, this time with forces of the normal world, the magical world and the ghost realm alike answering his call. Then, he would remove Jack forever and force Maddie to be his Queen.

But first, he had to deal with those that would stand in his way.

"Now let's see. Where should I make my next move?" He mused, a dark smirk crossing his face as he brought up eight profiles on his monitors, each one depicting a very recognisable teenager. Mildly looking each one over, he set to work with the center three monitors, using them to peruse backed up video logs from his spy cams and information shared by both the mundane and magical internet, looking for anything worth adding to his profiles.

He was through underestimating the youthful heroes. Too many times, his perfect plans had been foiled by children simply because of his own arrogance, underestimating their talents and resourcefulness. He'd had plenty of time to swallow his pride and admit it since even Jack left him to float around in space. Even if he hadn't, it couldn't be denied. Forever looking for a way safely back in, to take what was rightfully his, he had continued to watch the world from a space station he'd thought to send up before he busted himself, fortunately well stocked with food and water. With the help of that and his spy cameras, he'd easily kept tabs on the world's development and saw full well just what the Valour Guardians had accidentally created and worked to maintain. The kind of world unity that was next to impossible to make, but if done successfully, the kind in which the less than law abiding types like himself only found doing their business that much more difficult. Add that to the fact that the Valour Guardians was already an alliance movement involving dozens of heroes and support teams that were only going to grow, with or without members' entire societies backing them up, and you had a real problem. What made it even worse for his plans was that with Daniel being one of them, he was even further from Vlad's influential reach than ever. Even an idiot could tell you, this union had to be stopped and the very event that allowed him to return to Earth was exactly what he needed to make sure it never happened again.

Once he'd managed to successfully organise his base of operations, he'd immediately set to work, gathering everything, both new and old, about the Guardians that he could find, carefully determining how to proceed.

Naturally, the ones he'd initially wanted to strike at first were Saiyaman and Lucky Girl. With Ben Ten's Omnitrix destroyed, there was no question that they were the most powerful members of the Guardians. Video recordings his spy cameras had managed to acquire from the end of the battle with Maleficent suggested that one of the Nobodies might be a contender as well, considering the enormous amount of light that exploded from that place, but both of them were long gone from this world, completely out of his hair. That only left two major powerhouses to threaten him individually.

"If only I could go after them." Vlad grunted, looking over the data on both of them and finishing their updates before closing both files right down. _'But that would be too foolish.'_ Truer words, he'd never spoken. He'd put up a good fight against them for sure, and might even win, but the risk was far too great. Both of these members had a lot going for them. Power, intellect and resourcefulness, just to name the similarities between them as individuals, and in addition, they both also had a number of people more than capable of assisting them within arm's reach. Every shred of common sense screamed at him that he simply wasn't ready to fight such warriors. So he moved on, not only to the others, but to a new type of threat. The threat of influence.

The American Dragon, Kim Possible and his ultimate prey, Danny Phantom. Famous the world over, each one of them had countless different contacts and could quite easily gather an army each if they ever desired. In reality, the power of unification that each one of them represented individually was incredibly dangerous to him, if they were able to reunite and combined networks again, he'd never stand a chance in this world. Even all the other Guardians and their connections combined paled in comparison to the force those three could set up together. Add that to the fact that each one of them was a threat as an individual, if only a minor one to someone as powerful and experienced as him, then you had the most important targets. And so, he made plans to quickly remove all three.

However, much to his delight, this was practically done and gift wrapped for him. He'd barely started planning out his own moves when the Dark Dragon made the first move of his own with a dark sorceress. It was a brilliant piece, if he did say so himself, one that he doubted could have ended much better if even he tried. True, the American Dragon wasn't dead, but he had not only lost the bulk of his influence, his most powerful allies and all those that would join them had turned on the boy, fully intending to kill him themselves. On top of that, the whole disaster had gotten Danny lost in the dimensions, effectively removing the one person on the entire planet that had any chance of organising and allying the ghost zone with the living world.

Normally he'd be mad at the possibility of Danny being out of his grasp, but he knew that the boy would return sooner or later. He had continued to spy on those who returned from their interdimensional trip and knew full well where the boy had ended up. It was a little concerning just who's company he was currently in, but by the time he'd return home, Vlad was confident that the rest of his plans would play out and leave him free to work on Danny once again.

He was a little concerned that the American Dragon was now under the close protection of Saiyaman, not to mention the other Z Fighters and the high speed duck that came through the portal with them, but he quickly got over that. The Dragon Order was ripping the world apart looking for their 'traitor' while the rest of the magical societies worked desperately to hide it and repair it before the non-magical world could get suspicious. They were sure to find him eventually, and if they didn't, Vlad could always tell them after they caused enough chaos. Either way, once they found him and discovered who was protecting him, not only would that end any chance of the Z Fighters allying with the magical world, it would most likely end up with them fighting and eventually killing the Z Fighters for him. Whatever the result, it would only be beneficial to Vlad.

With the two with the supernatural connections dealt with well enough for the moment, Vlad was completely free to work on his other plans, eliminating Kim Possible.

That was the trickier one, as strange as that may sound. With no powers of her own, you'd think it'd be the easiest, but Vlad was not one to fall for such simple-minded thinking. Even while ignoring the immense power her previously incompetent sidekick had revealed, Kim represented possibly the biggest threat to him of all.

Kim had, by far, the most advanced and wide reaching network and allies, all of which would pay a great deal of attention to any action taken against her and the acts of Vlad himself. Kim basically had the entire world watching out for and assisting her. Sure, the surplus of celebrity friends, travelers, CEO business men and the like weren't much of a problem, but they did qualify as eyes and ears everywhere around the world. Team Go was an ally of note. They may be rather pathetic since Shego left the team, but they could still be tricky and were always happy to assist Kim at a moment's notice. Kim was more than capable of taking up Shego's old role, keeping the boys focused and sufficient. The secret Yamanuchi School of ninjas was another legitimate threat. Their masters were some of the most effective ninjas in the world and their Sensei had developed mystic powers of his own.

But the real threat to Vlad, the one that always kept tabs on Kim Possible, was Global Justice.

Though he found many of their agents laughable on their own, they were a well organised, highly dangerous organisation monitoring just about the entire world. That kind of heavy surveillance alone was dangerous and it was backed up by highly trained spies, scientists and highly advanced tech for an enormous range of scenarios. Even in the old days, when he could hide behind his human face, they'd forced him to backtrack and tread cautiously on multiple occasions. If they ever got the slightest hint that he was back, he'd be risking his life just exiting his front door. Especially since they'd acquired all of his old gear from his mansion and made business deals with Fenton Works. They were all set to throw a small army in his face. No, if he was to survive, much less win, Kim Possible and her contacts had to be neutralised before any other move was made. And unlike the others, this Guardian's most dangerous contacts had to be gutted first or simultaneously. Otherwise the retaliation would be disastrous.

Fortunately for him, Kim had developed quite a list of enemies as well. The kinds that had a lot of different skill sets and resources. On top of that, many of them had actually found each other before and proven their compatibility in partnerships. Kim had defeated them all time and again, earning her plenty of rage and hate, more than enough for him to work with. Bringing up her list of foes and their noted interactions had Vlad smirking in moments. They could work fine, for every target involved. Vlad had made plenty of less likely alliances before than this bunch. With his skills in manipulation and the right starting candidate, he could have the lot of them eating out of his hand in minutes. A certain blue skinned pawn would do just fine.

"The perfect plan." Vlad sighed, quite proud with himself as he took a sip of his tea. It was incredibly simplistic, but perfect all the same. After all, the goals were to hide his return and eliminate the threats to him. No one would ever suspect his involvement in this 'revenge scheme' even if they did know he was back on Earth. After all, he'd never once made a single move towards Kim, as friend or foe. Why would he ever aim for her?

A cruel grin spread from one side of his face to the other as he moved on and closed down all of his files until only those of Ben Ten, Wudai Warrior and Justiman were left.

"Now that one would be easy, normally." Vlad muttered, frowning at the files spreading around the base one for Ben Ten. "Still near powerless, but incredibly influential with the Plumbers, maybe more so than Lucky Girl." His frown hardened as he turned his attention to a screen depicting the surveillance of the boy to find him sitting at his town's Mr Smoothie with his cousin and friend, Kevin Eleven. Judging from the spell book sitting in front of Ben, they were taking a break during one of Ben's new magic lessons, not that he seemed very good with his pitifully small amount of magic. He couldn't help but let his frown turn into a scowl as he watched them. Every single Tennyson had some influence over the Plumbers and multiple other aliens on the planet. He would love to wipe them out, but he couldn't risk it. He had no way of influencing people powerful enough to take them on, most who could were as powerful as Vlad himself and plenty intelligent. He could only hope that someone with a grudge would come along now that Ben Ten was no more than a weakling mage.

"Still, it could be worse. The Plumbers left this entire sector of the galaxy in the hands of Ben Ten and those he gathered. They're strong, but hardly a leading influence in this world." Feeling a bit better as the thought crossed his mind, he scrubbed Ben's details from view and focused on the others.

Seeing that The Xiaolin monks had had their hands full with only increasing numbers of Heylin warriors, Vlad pushed Raimundo aside for now. He was confident that Wuya, Hannibal Roy Bean and Chase Young would take care of him. After all, each of them was a legendary force of evil, all of them doing unspeakable horrors individually. With all three causing strife at once, he doubted the Xiaolin Dragons would last much longer. That just left Justiman, the tenth Guardian.

"Such a powerful warrior. Defeated even the Saiyan brat once." Vlad had to admit, Justiman was fascinating. And a very big curiosity. It had been difficult to find a lot of information on his origins and power sources, but what he had was definitely intriguing for the scientific mind. It was right there on the screen in front of him, information stolen by hacking some of the most secure and isolated systems on the planet. A man-made superhuman, just like the ghost hybrids.

"If only I could find the identity of what they used to alter him and how." Setting his cup aside, he set to work, typing furiously, analysing every bit of data and footage before him, looking for the slightest hint of what was done. His abilities didn't help much. Most of his different attacks were due to the metal arm simply using and reshaping the purplish-blue energy his body exuded, an invention he'd discovered was created by his teammate Tech, another person Vlad had taken interest in. The abilities he had without it were far too generic, simply being super strength, durability and stamina, combined with exceptional fighting talent. Combine that with the fact that so much data on the actual process was missing and a major component commented on frequently in the notes was only called 'the element', there was almost nothing to go on.

"Damn it! If I could figure out what was used, I could easily duplicate the process." His eyes narrowed into slits, he fiercely examined every single word in every report and entry note he'd acquired, over even the slightest of details in the videos of Justiman's battles. He had to find the source of this power, had to find an answer. If he could then he'd have the potential for creating an army that could wipe out even the greatest forces on Earth in a day! A force powerful enough to help him take over the world, but not powerful enough for any member to be a threat to him. "There has to be something, some sign of...aha!" Eyes widening and a victorious smirk splitting his face, he immediately froze a recording, one he'd barely noticed through the side of his vision. Bringing up a report he'd read only a few minutes ago, he reread a paragraph, frequently looking back and forth between it and the frozen image, before bring up an internet search, confirming his theory. A moment later, the entire room was filled with a loud, evil cackle. "That's it! Amazing, how did they ever manage to get their hands on that? Oh, this is perfect."

It only took moments for a plan to form in his mind after that. It was fool proof, there was no doubt about that. And the best part was that he'd barely even need to lift a finger. One little prick and the heroes and their little friends would do the job for him.

"Whether he succeeds or fails, another Guardian and who knows how many others will be out of my way. HAHAHA!" The laughter actually turned psychotic at that. He had his next two targets. A few more dominoes were about to fall and these ones would take countless more with them.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** And here's chapter two! The first six will show up fast. But anyway, there's something else I wanted to mention. If you didn't already, I thought you'd like to know that two people asked and got permission to write oneshots based in this world and have each uploaded one. They're called The times we Cherish, by sailorlyoko4life, which would be set before VG5, and A Far off Memory, by shadowwolf547, set between VG5 and VG6. I thought they were nice reads and have declared them cannon, so check them out if you wanna.

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**Wade's Apprenticeship**

Japan seemed to be completely blanketed in thick clouds for a good few days now. The rain had been heavy for just as long, to the point where even most of the cities weren't seeing nearly as much bustle on the streets anymore. Little sun had been getting through, leaving half the nation with a gloomy feeling hanging over their heads. It wasn't the happiest sight to see, that was for sure.

"This is so amazing!" However, nothing was going to mess Wade's mood up today, that was guaranteed. Kim could only shake her head as those words exploded from his mouth again. It had to have been the hundredth time in the last hour.

"Can you believe it? Bulma Briefs, _the_ Bulma Briefs, possibly the most brilliant woman on the planet, personally chose me to work with her! And I'm only minutes away from meeting her in person!" Wade had so many stars in his eyes that they had to start floating around his head just so he could fit them all as they walked down the long path to what had to be the biggest, dome shaped building Team Possible had ever seen. The place looked like it could comfortably fit a castle inside of it. And emblazoned right across the front of it, in English, as strange as that seemed to Kim and her friends, was the name Capsule Corp.

"Yes Wade, we know. You've said the same thing, every few minutes since we first got to the airport. Back in America!" Monique exclaimed with mock exasperation, rolling her eyes.

"Now, now, Monique, let him have his moment." Felix chuckled, adjusting the umbrella coming from his wheelchair. "It is an amazing opportunity after all, just to have a conversation with any of the Briefs family. But to be noticed and handpicked to work as an apprentice to one, even from all the way on the other side of the world, and get to work in their head office of all places? That's the unreachable plateau of his profession he's reached! There's no words to describe it."

"I've got a few. Showing us up." Monique retorted amusedly, sending Wade a fake glare. "We're all set to go off to college and he gets accepted into a place where you need a series of master degrees just to apply. And he doesn't even try to apply, the woman in charge requests him! Don't I feel stupid now."

"Hey, at least you got into college. Not that I wanna anymore." Ron grinned cheekily, wrapping an arm around Kim's shoulders. "After all, that would mean that I wouldn't have time for KP or my new job on this little team."

"You just like the idea of travelling everywhere for free." Kim smiled, kissing him on the cheek as he smiled shamelessly right back. "Though, I admit it is good to have a senior member able to move around so freely."

That was the truth, a lot had changed recently. Ron had really stepped up since graduation and the alien invasion trying to take over the world, to the point where he could now stand beside Kim as an equal partner rather than a sidekick. However, that was far from the last change to occur for Team Possible. With graduation behind them and college spread out across the world close ahead, both they and their friends had been determined to spend as much time together as possible over the summer. Which was natural and common, even for Kim and Ron. What made it special however, was the fact that it had resulted in Felix and Monique coming along on a good number of missions, whether Kim knew and accepted their help or not. By the end of the first month, Kim didn't see any point in denying it anymore and had officially declared them to be part of Team Possible. It's not like she could stop them really, they'd proved time and again that they'd figure out how to tag along, and besides, it made her feel more relaxed having a bigger team. She'd felt far too unnerved lately.

Even before the invasion, Kim had had an unsettling feeling she couldn't shake. She couldn't even tell you what it was; only that it scared her. She only knew of one thing that even seemed to connect to it and that was the strange dreams she'd been having. Some were nightmares, depicting black monsters with creepy yellow eyes or men in trench coats using supernatural powers, like those of Team Go or Danny Phantom, while others were easy victories or pleasant moments with other people, heroes like herself. The only problem with those was that the people she assumed were allies or friends were always shadowed. She could never see their faces. But still, it all left her with the same feeling, one that was dramatically emphasized by the invasion and the sheer amount of luck involved in their victory: She and Ron weren't enough. Not nearly enough. They needed help. Especially since Rufus was tagging along less and less. It bothered her more than she was willing to admit and Ron and Rufus were having bouts of separation anxiety, but everyone felt better when he was staying at home near Hana. She was getting more active and energetic by the day, so their parents really needed the extra set of eyes and sneaky talents the naked mole rat provided to keep her in check. Also, she seemed to be developing the same level of attachment to the rodent as Ron, so separating them was hard. But while it helped everyone's peace of mind, Kim's team had lost a valuable asset.

So, all in all, she was very happy that the people she trusted most, outside Ron and her family, decided to step up and assist them. They hadn't figured out how it was going to work once college started, but Ron was free to travel fast, Wade could direct and work from just about anywhere and they were sure that the rest would work itself out sooner or later.

Still, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. Right now, all they cared about was accompanying Wade to his definition of paradise.

Reaching the main entrance, Wade practically skipped inside, much to the amusement of the others. By the time they passed through the doors, he was already at the front desk, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Hello young man. How can I help you today?" The blond woman asked, smiling as brightly as the sun. Kim had to admit, she was good at her job. Her happiness didn't only look genuine, she seemed to be as happy as Wade himself was. She was a pale skinned woman, looking like she'd fit in much better in Norway than Japan, and was starting to get up there in age, but she had yet to show the first sign of genuine old age. No age lines, no grey hairs, nothing. Her fashion sense was definitely up to date too, though it did confuse her a little that she would be allowed to wear clothes like tight jeans and shoulder-less shirts in a professional company, particularly one that specialises in science and machinery. It was hardly professional or safe looking.

"Hi ma'am, I'm here to see Miss Bulma Briefs. My name's Wade."

"Oh, so you're the third one. It's wonderful to meet you." The woman's smile actually managed to grow happier as she pulled herself up. "Come with me everyone. My daughter is waiting for you and I'm sure you'll love to meet the other apprentices."

"You're daughter?" Ron cried, dropping his jaw. "But you don't look nearly old enough to be the mother of Bulma Briefs!"

"That would explain how she can dress so fashionably here." Monique grinned, nodding approvingly.

"I'm a little more surprised that we're getting through so easy." Kim sweatdropped with a grin. "Wade was like twenty feet ahead of us, not many would just assume that we were with him."

"Of course you're all invited in." Mrs Briefs chimed, taking the time to give each of them a smile. "Wade was chosen for his rather amazing exploits and many of them are connected to Kim Possible. Bulma was quite keen to meet you too my dear and your friends are more than welcome to come along."

"Thank you ma'am." Felix smiled, rolling right after her. "I hope it isn't too much bother having the rest of us tagging along."

"No, not at all." Mrs Briefs replied merrily. "I love having lots of company and the people Bulma attracts are always fun and amusing. Besides, a few of you were already expected to come with young Wade."

"We were expected?" Kim asked, raising a curious eyebrow. "I was under the impression that Wade hadn't mentioned anything."

"Yeah, I didn't. So how did you know that I'd bring company?" Wade frowned.

"Well, you came from the other side of the world, are still very young, and your parents aren't coming for another week." Mrs Brief giggled, waving her finger in the air. Naturally, that had the whole group sweatdropping and embarrassed.

"Well, when you put it that way..." Kim muttered.

"You'd expect someone to come along, wouldn't ya?" Felix mused, scratching the back of his head.

"What other option have you got, abandon a fourteen year old at an airport?" Monique rolled her eyes. Ron just laughed. He'd long embraced the fact that he was an idiot.

"So, you mentioned other apprentices." Wade commented, a little desperate to forget about that little joint blank moment. "Am I likely to know any of them?"

"I imagine so." Mrs Briefs grinned as they reached an elevator. Pressing the button, the doors opened immediately and they were happy to discover that it provided plenty of room even with Felix' chair taking up space as they headed up. "Or at least one. She's not so famous for her own work like you, but for her family in general. The other's an upcoming prodigy from Tokyo. Now there's an interesting boy. He does things more smoothly than even my husband."

"Seriously!" Kim and Wade cried, both of them gaping at the laughing woman before Wade went on. "But Mr Briefs is a world renowned genius! He designed, developed and constructed the Capsule program all by himself! How could anyone possibly do things better than him?"

"I don't know, but he found a way." Mrs Briefs shrugged happily right as the elevator came to a stop. "Well, here we are. Welcome to my home."

"Home?" Ron barely had time for a confused frown before the doors opened to reveal a massive room that could only be a part of living space. Most of it was split into three areas, a decently sized kitchen, a dining area and a much larger lounging area with long, comfortable looking couches, coffee table and a huge TV that was currently displaying cartoons for two little boys, who just so happened to... "Holy cow, those boys are floating in the air!"

"Yeah, they tend to do that." Mrs Briefs laughed, guiding the stunned group of teenagers in, drawing both boys' attention. "These are my grandson, Trunks, and Goten Son. His family is very close to ours. Boys, meet, Wade and his friends. Wade's the third apprentice."

"Sup." The purple haired boy barely passed them a smirk before turning his attention back to the TV. The other however, was much more sociable.

"Hi! I'm Goten! And hey, you're Kim Possible, right?" The teens barely had time to gasp before a bright, smiling face and a mop of black, messy hair was right up in Kim's face. "You're a great hero, like our Dads and my brother. Gohan thinks highly of you."

"Your Dad's a hero? Do they all fly too?" Ron asked, staring at the boy in wonder.

"Gohan...?" Kim however, was lost in thought. That one word had her receding into her head as an image of a teenage boy looking much like Goten floated before her mind's eye before disappearing within a golden light. "Gohan...Saiyaman."

"Huh? What was that, KP?"

"Hey, that's the silly codename Gohan uses sometimes! You know of him?"

"I...yeah." Kim nodded with a frown, turning back and forth from her confused boyfriend and the excited little boy. "I don't know how, but yeah, I know him. I...I think I met him."

"But Ron hasn't?" Felix exclaimed, thrown off by the completely nonplussed look her response caused on his friend's face. "How did that work out?"

"I have no idea! Especially since...I feel like he was my friend. Is he here right now too?" Kim asked hastily, turning back to the happy kid before someone could ask something else. Unfortunately, she was quickly disheartened when Goten shook his head.

"Sorry, he took off with a boy and a talking duck to try and find the duck's uncle. He said something about the duck uncle bringing doom."

"No, he called him 'The Duck of Doom', moron." Trunks butted in, rolling his eyes, though never once looking back. "Some talking duck got turned into a super villain and they want to turn him back to normal. Apparently he's a mouse king' s magician. Wouldn't have believed any of it if the other talking duck hadn't shown up here and ran around faster than we can fly."

"Seriously? Talking ducks and mouse kings? Do we need to find a grown up to talk to or did we fall into Wonderland?" Monique cried, staring at everyone in wild disbelief. Not that she was the only one, Felix and Wade looked just as dubious about all of it, though Ron seemed to be in awe of it all.

Kim however, didn't notice any of it. The claims of mouse king and a duck magician had her head pulsing yet again, bringing new images and thoughts with it. For just a moment, what felt so greatly like memories ripped themselves from some deep fog in the back of her head that she hadn't even noticed was there before and revealed themselves. This time, it was full images, every one of them depicting a humanoid duck in Wizarding wear and carrying a wand with a star in it and a mouse that's ears reached a little higher than her knee in black clothes and wielding a giant gold and silver key.

'_Keyblade.'_ She had no clue where that word came from, but the instant she focused on that key, the word demanded to be known and was quickly followed by a series of other images that came through so fast that they hurt her head. A demonic looking blade with a white wing coming from it in the hands of a tall, silver haired teen, a Keyblade covered in flowers and wielded by a sweet looking, red haired girl, a very complex blue and white blade in the hands of a brunette boy with a very kind face. And then, with far more detail than any before, a blond boy that sent a great flood of happiness and sadness through her heart crossed her mind, bearing two Keyblades, one black and deadly and one white, bearing what looked a bit like a snowflake at the end. This one she knew very well, she was sure of that. But something bad had happened to him, she was sure of that too. She just didn't have a clue what.

"Roxas." The word was barely a whisper. No one else in the room could have possibly heard it as they argued with the boys over the truth of their claims, Mrs Brief just laughing at the scene. But still, it was enough to bring both a smile and tears to Kim's face. The image of him in her head was becoming clearer by the second, bringing what had to be other flickers of memories of him with it. She could see him relaxing with Gohan, who was only becoming clearer in her mind too, the more she focused. She could see him playing soccer with her and the other shadowy figures that had been plaguing her dreams. And, she could see him comforting and caring for another face that was leaving the fog behind. A blond girl...

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Kim gasped as a bright, happy voice shot right through her thoughts, snapping her back to reality. Turning to the door, she found a smiling woman with blue hair and eyes who looked to be in her thirties at the most. Unlike Mrs Briefs, she was wearing a lab coat and her clothes were much more suitable for lab purposes, though she still had plenty of fashion flare about her and had just as happily forgone any attempts at looking professional. Still, her eyes held the look of plenty of intellect, something she was very accustomed to seeing with her parents. There was no doubt in her mind who this was, even if she hadn't seen her in Wade's magazines or on TV before. "I'm Bulma. It's nice to finally meet you all. Please, take a seat."

"It's about to get boring in here." Trunks sighed, taking one look around the room before snagging Goten by the arm. "Come on, let's go to the training room."

"YEAH!" Trunks almost hit his head on the floor as Goten cheered and sped up so fast that he was now dragging Trunks. Reaching the elevator, he opened the door, completely ignoring that the elevator was already gone, before quickly turning back to the still awestruck teenagers and amused women. "Nice to meet you, Kim Possible and friends! I hope to see you later. Maybe you could even train with us! Bye!" And with that, both boys shot down the elevator shaft faster than the eye could follow, leaving only a stunned silence in their wake.

"Well, that was unusual. And weird. " Monique muttered.

"Do they by any chance have all the powers of the Z Fighters?" Wade asked, turning curiously back to Bulma. "They mentioned that their Dads and brother were heroes. Goten's appearance and their flight suggests that that's the group they're talking about."

"That's right. I'm impressed that you know that name. Not surprised though." Bulma smiled, adding a wink to the end.

"Z Fighters?" Ron asked, looking lost once again, not that Felix and Monique looked much different. "Who are they?"

"A group of heroes that protect Japan. They're said to be the most powerful team in the world." Kim answered immediately, getting a round of raised eyebrows and dropped jaws from all of her friends, minus Wade. That was expected though, she was even surprising herself. "The group has had a total of six members so far, two of which are unfortunately dead now, and all of them were aliens. Three Saiyans, two Saiyan-human hybrids and a Nemakian. They were slowly gathered over time by the winner of the last World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku Son. Each of them has the power of Ki manipulation, allowing them to learn how to fly and unleash a series of energy related techniques, super strength, durability and speed at simply ridiculous levels and all of them are master martial artists."

"All correct." Bulma nodded, a knowing smile planted firmly on her face the whole time Kim was talking. "In addition to a few other tricks specific to their species."

"If that's all true, how come none of us have ever heard of them?" Felix asked, though there wasn't a shred of disbelief anywhere on him. In fact, he was leaning forward in his chair, keen to learn more.

"And if Kim knows about them, how come I don't?" Ron cried frustratedly, only to freeze a second later, his growing wide. "Actually...I, I kinda think that it sounds familiar, but I can't figure out from where."

"I've felt like that for a while now myself." Wade admitted, looking thoroughly perplexed for the first time in Kim's life. "I'm not entirely sure how I learned of them either."

"Everything I said just popped in my head within the last five minutes." Kim admitted softly, just as lost as the boys. "How is that possible? And why do I feel like I've been here and met you before, Bulma? Have I done a mission here before?" She asked, frowning deeply at the genius. Who, Kim was ready to guarantee, knew exactly what was going on. That knowing smile hadn't left her face yet.

"I do have information on that to share, but we'll get to that a little later." That wasn't the answer Kim wanted to hear, but she couldn't voice her irritation as Bulma turned her smile from her to Wade. "Right now, how about we tour the lab and I show what and who you're going to be working with here?"

"We can go now?" Well, that settled it. Wade was up and looked like a kid in a toy store that had just been told he could have every toy he liked. There was no way that Kim or the others could rain on his parade now.

"Well, I see no reason not to." Bulma nodded before turning to the others. "The rest of you are welcome to come along now too if you like, but if you would rather stay here, you are welcome to. As she would have mentioned already, Mom loves guests. You can of course, check everything out for yourselves anytime during your stay."

"Sweet! I'll stay here." Ron instantly declared, sinking back comfortably into the couch. "I still haven't ditched my jetlag yet."

"I'd love to talk some fashion." Monique stated, turning to Mrs Brief with a smile. "I'm studying it in college next semester and I'd love to get a handle on the current 'what's hot' line in Japan, if you don't mind."

"Oh, I'd love to!" Mrs Briefs nodded merrily. "Bulma and I have plenty of magazines around here. We can talk all day."

"Wonderful! That's perfect!"

"Would it be possible to show me the training room on the way?" Wade asked. "I'd like to see how those boys train. It's similar to these Z Fighter parents of theirs, right?"

"Exactly like them. I'll be happy to show you, it's not all that far out of the way to the lab." Bulma nodded, getting a big smile and a thankyou in return.

"Well, you two have fun. I'm gonna come along." Felix stated, an excited smile of his own spreading wide across his face. "This place is awesome, even my Mom thinks highly of the company. I gotta check it out."

"I'll come too. Someone should probably be there for actually supporting Wade." Kim declared, giving a beaming Wade a proud look as everyone leaving got to their feet.

"Ok, then lets head out." Bulma cheered, her knowing smile turning into a pleased one as she headed back towards the elevator . "We've got a lot of ground to cover."

'_And a lot more surprises on the way.'_ Kim was absolutely sure of it. Bulma knew a lot about the things suddenly appearing in her head. She had a lot of answers. Every look that had crossed her face since she'd first entered the room reeked of hidden knowledge and it only grew greater when Kim gave information she couldn't remember learning. She'd been in the game far too long not to notice it. Hell, her brothers gave it to her every week. The only question was, were the answers she had good or troublesome?


	3. Chapter 3

**Bulma's Ulterior Motive**

It may not have been part of the initial tour, but the training room turned out to be an amazing first stop. The room, for the most part, was bare, with some weights and punching bags placed around the walls, but in the very center was a strange machine, reaching from the floor right up to the ceiling. Just looking at it, Kim could tell that it was more advanced than anything Drakken, Dementor or any of her villains had ever made.

Then, if that wasn't intriguing enough for you, there was the two boys sparring hard and fast all over the room.

"Whoa! Look at them go!" Felix cried, his face splitting into a stunned smile while his eyes zipped back and forth in their sockets.

"I'm...I'm having a little trouble keeping up." Kim stuttered, thoroughly gobsmacked.

"No kidding!" Felix nodded, though he looked far more amazed and excited than anything else. "They never stop moving. And look at their moves!"

Kim could only nod at that, she'd caught it too. Other than flying, the boys weren't using anything but your run of the mill martial arts, something Kim was adept in recognising and analysing. For seven and eight year olds, their skill level was amazing!

Trunks, she could tell, was a little more calculating in his moves, effectively blocking or dodging in ways designed to take advantage of openings before delivering powerful blows to the first vulnerable place he found, as opposed to Goten, who seemed to enjoy the thrill of quick flurrying attacks. He seemed particularly fond of blocking Goten's punches with his knee before spinning in the air and bringing his other heel down hard into Goten's upper back.

"BAAH!" Caught off guard, Goten crashed hard into the ground with a bang, immediately eliciting gasps from the watching teens. Protective instinct instantly kicking in, Kim sprung into action.

"NO!" Only for a suddenly freaked Bulma to snatch her arm and yank her right back just one step before she would have entered the training area, using her body to push back Wade and block the concerned Felix while she was at it.

"Bulma, what are you doing?" Wade cried, stumbling back onto his butt. "The kid-"

"Is fine." Bulma broke in, right as, sure enough, a near unscathed Goten shot back up with a flying kick.

"That won't work again, Trunks!"

"We'll see about that!"

"Huh?" All three teens could only gape as Trunks dodged and retaliated with an elbow jab only for Goten to flip in the air and kick it away before the pair of them sunk back into their original pattern. It was as if that crash never happened, ignoring a few small bruises.

"A Saiyan's durability is much greater than a human's and experience has suggested that the hybridisation with human DNA has only improved it, though we're not sure how that worked." Bulma explained, taking a calming breath herself before turning to each of them apologetically. "Sorry, there's a couple of things I probably should have mentioned on the way here and the dangers of stepping beyond this is one of them." She added, raising her hand as if petting thin air, only to stun the group as air started rippling like water. Following the ripples, they could only stare in amazement as they spread out until they reached the floor, walls and ceiling.

"Is this an air barrier?" Wade practically squealed, raising his hands and laughing as he created some ripples of his own. "Amazing!"

"We use the same compression systems we use for our capsules to prevent anything within the room from coming out." Bulma nodded proudly, chuckling as Wade continued to joyfully play with the air. "It was a challenge to set it up for an open space like this and to allow air to pass through, but it was well worth the effort. It saves both a tone of lives and money on repairs, let me tell you." She added, her mood shifting to fond exasperation as she turned back to her son. "These two combined are nothing on the destructive tendencies of Trunks' father. But it was dominantly designed to protect everyone outside the room from that!" She added firmly pointing right at the machine in the center.

"What does it do?" Wade asked, suddenly a lot more wary of the place. So were Kim and Felix for that matter. With the way Bulma spoke and had acted, Kim was just about ready to back far away and never come back.

"It's an artificial gravity machine." Bulma answered, staring hard at each of them with a look that reflected both pride and caution. "One specifically designed to reach up to ten times Earth's gravity."

"SAY WHAT!"

"Hu-WHAA!" Caught off by the screaming, both of the boys lost focus and plummeted hard into the ground. Groaning, Goten pouted as he rubbed his head while Trunks scowled at their audience, but Kim and her friends didn't pay attention to any of that. They were far too busy paling or gaping at the ridiculously dangerous machine that had previously been a point of minor interest, one that was humming and lit up, very much active.

'_Those boys...they're...'_ Kim couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who would build such a machine, let alone let your kids play with it? And what kind of bodies did these boys have? Survival should have been impossible, yet they were moving and flying around with ease! How...

"Obviously, the boys aren't using, or even allowed, to use nearly that high a setting." Bulma went on calmly, as if she was in the middle of a lecture, as she pointed to a screen on the center of the machine that was big and visible enough for them to see even from where they stood. "As the screen shows, the machine is currently only increasing the gravity to 1.5 times Earth's gravity, a setting that is survivable and manageable to even a normal human, as long as they have well prepared for it. To use a setting above twice Earth's gravity, something only Vegeta is crazy enough to do, you need a password that only a few people know. The boys are allowed to use up to 1.6, as the Saiyan body evolved on a planet that held much higher gravity than Earth and they have worked their way up from our planet's gravity level to that one level at a time. Given time for preparation, strength increase and adaption, I'm sure Kim would be able to reach the machine's current level and a bit beyond, but jumping in now would have had very damaging effects to anyone, so always take great care when entering this particular facility."

"Duly noted." Wade muttered quietly, the others simply nodding their heads at best. That was one dangerous setup the Briefs had going, and far too easy to enter to boot.

"Forgive me for asking, but shouldn't something so clearly only meant for superheroes' use be a little more difficult to enter?" Felix asked slowly, biting his lip as he finally turned back to Bulma, half expecting to be snapped at for the insinuation. However, all Bulma did was shrug.

"Nah, this area is well away from the labs and other frequently visited departments of the company. For the most part, only family members and close friends enter this area at all and everyone who'd ever have a reason to come here is well warned of the danger. Besides, no one ever wants to come here anyway." She added with a smirk. "Vegeta is quite terrifying to just about everyone. Particularly with that empty threat of his about blasting you into oblivion."

'_Ok, not even touching that one.'_ Kim had had enough shocking events thrown her way to last the next few hours and more were on the way without an explanation behind some scary, temperamental Prince of the Sai...ok, apparently her mind was supplying information on its own anyway.

"So...this place is equipped specifically to train super strong aliens? Does it have any other...interesting features?" Felix asked, partially excited and partly scared of the answer. Though, none of that stopped him from lighting up like a Christmas tree and gasping in awe as Goten whipped up his palm and shot a small, blue blast point blank in Trunks' face, sending the purpled haired boy smacking hard into the wall. "Now that's cool! Those walls have to be as thick as a mountain!"

"Actually, while they are reinforced, they survive mostly because of the compression system." Bulma responded, shaking her head sourly. "You have no idea how many times I've had to have the damn things fixed! But to answer your question, there's also combat droids with different weapons and floating machines designed either to shoot lasers or deflect energy blasts. Depending on what setting you put them on and how many you fight at once, it's quite the workout. You're welcome to give a go later." She offered, smiling. "There are levels for normal humans too. Even I sometimes go in for a round. Though, I was once told that I should have competed in the old World Martial Arts Tournaments." She added with a laugh.

"To keep a son like that in line, I'll believe it." Felix muttered, only to get a snort from Bulma in return. "Still, my mother would love to talk to you about some of that sometime, Bulma. She's one of the leading specialists in cyber robotics worldwide, but this would impress even her."

"I'll have to remember to set up a meeting." Bulma smiled before heading back toward the main company. "And I doubt that will be all we talk about. Now, how about we get started on the actual tour of the facility?"

"I'm ready!" Wade practically leaped after her in his glee, heralding laughter from everyone, bar Trunks, who'd simply smirked at him before taking advantage of Goten's distraction with a backfist. Normally, Wade would be embarrassed by that, but he was in far too good a mood to care. In fact, he actually continued to basically skip along.

...

Once they actually reached the company portion of the building, the group found themselves a lot more relaxed and in their element. Not that even Wade was able to keep calm as they visited each lab, team and division. Though labs and advanced, complicated machinery were commonplace in the lairs of Professor Dementor or Dr Drakken, not to mention the space station where Dr Possible and Felix' mother worked, this seemed to be on a whole other level.

Though known worldwide for its capsule technology, Capsule Corp was far more diverse and at the front of a number of different waves in technology. From washing machines, to portable houses, to jet planes, if you could put it in a capsule, they were designing new, high tech versions for it. And just about anything could go into a capsule. The only limitation seemed to be if it was alive.

'_If I couldn't see all this, I'd swear magic was involved.'_ Kim mused as a button was hit on a small cottage type house only for the whole thing to disappear in a puff of smoke, a larger than average capsule rolling around being the only thing left as the gas cleared. "That was just...wow."

"You guys haven't seen many of these, have you?" Bulma asked, watching with amusement as all three of them gaped in awe or wonder.

"No, they're a bit expensive for the average person." Felix responded lightly, a wry smile crossing his face as he turned back to her. That was actually a massive understatement. Naturally, this kind of technology was of high value, only made greater by the fact that there was no competition. Even companies that had tried to reverse engineer the tech tended to fail spectacularly, leaving Capsule Corp with full control of the distribution. Something they took full advantage of and had government circles all over the world annoyed.

Seeing their desire to use his tech for military advantage and other less pleasant opportunities, Dr Briefs had refused to make agreements with any leading political body, keeping that aspect of his company extremely private. As such, though the world over knew and desired their tech, Capsule Corp's companies only really operated in Japan, with a few small transactions with neighbouring countries. Put all that together and you'd find it equals finding a capsule is a rarity for most of the world.

Chuckling, Bulma gave him a conceding nod before moving on toward the less mechanical divisions, stopping briefly only when Felix cried out in amazement at the sight of a hover car that put Drakken's to shame.

"We even have a division working on new, better performing spaceships." Bulma mentioned as they waited for Felix to finish a conversation with an eager mechanic and designer currently testing the vehicle. "I think we're doing pretty good, but I'll admit that even we can't stand up to the projects your father develops, Kim. I'll have to try and get NASA's Middleton staff to do a joint project with us one day."

"I'm sure that my dad would love it." Kim grinned, before turning back to her wheelchair bound friend with a sigh. "And I'm also sure that he will not be ready to leave for quite a while."

"Probably not." Wade agreed, though he wasn't about to complain. Sure, he wanted to progress to where he'd be mostly working, but he was more than happy to wait. With the ship's designer in the bay and bragging about his pride and joy, the boys were happily learning about everything from how fast and high the car could go to the calibrations and fuel intake that allowed it to work. It was more than fascinating.

Still, Bulma seemed to have a plan set out for the day, so it wasn't too long before she reined them in and on their way. They moved on to large chemical labs, where they found scientists working on a number of almost random compounds and mixtures all over the place. One lab was focused solely on different types of fuel, while others seemed to be working on projects that reminded her a great deal of some of the things Wade gave her. She had a feeling a lot of her gadgets were going to be upgraded in the near future when Wade started bouncing on his feet, blabbering about his own comparable projects and the possibilities of advancement.

Wade would be spending a lot of time in there, of that everyone was certain. However, it wasn't until the end of the tour that they found the area where all the apprentices would work most frequently with Bulma.

"Welcome to our official area, my own, personal lab." Hitting a button on the wall, Bulma smiled with pride as a door slid open to reveal a very spacious room. Close to the Briefs' living area, the place was very high up and had one wall made almost entirely of windows. The area looked a lot like a miniature version of the company itself, sporting a little bit of everything in different areas. The corner nearest to the door was set up like a computer lab, with multiple benches each holding a computer, a printer, a basic scanner and one or two unique pieces of technology that Kim didn't recognise. The next area, up toward the windows, held a lot of mechanical equipment and tools, mostly meant for smaller tasks by the looks of things, while the other side from the door held benches and equipment designed for bigger constructions. A series of monitors and button bearing machines nearly coated the walls along all three sides, any function they could hold being a mystery to Kim, unless they were all involved with the computers or the ventilation system.

The final quarter of the room however, was much less sterile and more homey. Book cases lined the wall meeting the window while large, comfy looking couches form a semicircle around a low table, complete with a coffee machine. And there, sitting on the couches, were two teenagers that could only be the other apprentices.

"Hi there. I was wondering when you were going to show up." A girl with blue eyes and long, red hair, maybe the same age as Kim, smiled over her shoulder as the door closed behind them. Closing a very thick book, she rose to her feet and met them halfway across the room, letting them all get a good view of a very recognisable person. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm sorry, I know you're Kim, but which one of you nice young men is Wade?"

"That's me!" Wade grinned, quickly stepping forward and shaking her hand. "This our friend and new teammate, Felix."

"Nice to meet you, my lady." Felix nodded. "Am I correct in calling you Jazz Fenton?"

"That you are." Jazz smiled right back, moving to shake his offered hand before moving on to Kim. "It's not often I get to meet other teams in the world saving business. However...I feel like I have met you." A slight frown crossed her face as she offered her hand once more, which Kim quickly took in her own.

"You know something? I feel the same way." Something about Jazz was definitely triggering that fog in her head again. She knew of Jasmine Fenton, of course, her whole family was very famous. Danny Phantom was the only hero in the world who's fame and reputation were as well known as Kim's. Hell, he had a statue in every major city around the world for crying out loud! All coming to a head due to an asteroid disaster he helped to resolve.

However, he was hardly the only Fenton involved in that. Even before Phantom was revealed to be a Fenton, a huge amount of recognition went to the enormous amount of work Fenton Works put in to the technology that allowed his plan to become possible. In addition, the event assured the entire world that ghosts existed, rather than just being a gimmick Amity Park was using to fetch tourists, which not only proved that the Fentons weren't crazy, but put them all right in the international spotlight as the world's foremost experts on ghosts and ectoplasmic technology. Though neither a major fighter or scientist like her family, Jazz was well involved with a lot of Fenton Works' new business and did occasionally assist with volatile ghosts, giving her plenty of the spotlight herself.

Having such well known faces, it was obvious that they would know of each other, but one look at Jazz and Kim was sure that she felt the same thing. It wasn't as strong as the sense of knowing she got at the mention of Gohan, but it was much stronger than what she'd felt for the Z Fighters. Both were sure, though they couldn't remember it, they had met at least once or twice before.

"Huh, weird." However, while Kim was a bit stuck on it, Jazz was quite content to wave it off and figure it out another day. At the moment, she was much more interested in the other apprentice. "Henry, don't be antisocial! Come and say hello."

"Hmm?" That was when everyone turned their attention back to the couches and once again, the Deja vu returned. However, this time it had her a lot more on edge.

Sitting in a meditative position, just opening calm, inquisitive, grey eyes, was a teenage boy, about sixteen or seventeen years old and of Chinese decent. Messy, dark blue hair covered his head and though his green and brown clothes kept most of his body from view, Kim knew with the utmost certainty that though he was lithe in form, he still had sufficiently defined muscles and could throw one hell of a punch. Not only that, but the knowledge that this boy was surrounded by machinery also set off a few warning lights in her head and for a second, she could have sworn that his eyes glowed green. All in all, she was sure she'd met him before too and the experience wasn't a pleasant one.

"Sorry if I was being rude." Yet, strangely enough, Kim couldn't for the life of her figure out why she felt anything unsettling about him as he rose to his feet and bowed slightly before looking back up with a small, sheepish smile as he took everyone in. "I'm afraid I was in a world of my own. I'm Henry Wong. It is a pleasure to meet all of you."

Yep, Kim had no clue what could be wrong with him. The boy was the epitome of polite and well mannered. He held himself with much more restraint, both physically and emotionally, than anyone else in the room, but his face still suggested nothing more than a friendly, curious nature at heart. She'd pay attention for a while, but Kim was willing to try and ignore that initial less than pleasant feeling she'd had before. Who knows, it might have only been a result of circumstances or something. It wouldn't be the first time she'd misjudged someone.

She really hoped that she was right though. Kim simply couldn't shake the feeling that this boy could very easily kill them all.

"Very formal, isn't he?" Bulma commented lightly, petting the boy on the shoulder as she led everyone to the couches. Making herself comfy, she turned on the coffee machine and only waited long enough to take a sip of the completed beverage before moving on. "Ok everyone, as you know, to some extent, each one of you has been chosen for your intellect. Wade here," She started, waving her hand to the youngest person in the room. "Is an all round genius, with sufficient talent in all the average fields Capsule Corp involves itself in. Jazz was accepted dominantly for her knowledge of ectoplasm and technology that is powered by it. She also allows for a well developed business connection to Fenton Works while continuing her studies in psychology, among other things. Finally, Henry is an amazing programmer for his age and an even better engineer.

"I hope to help you develop these skills individually, as well as help each other where your strengths and interests meet." She went on, opening a draw in her side of the table and pulling out three files, handing each one to her new apprentices. None of them wasted a second in opening them, all of them bearing varying expressions of excitement or curiosity. "These will be each of your individual and group criteria's. The work is challenging, but it will be interesting and very rewarding for all involved. Nooow..." Kim almost felt a shiver go up her spine as Bulma drew out the word. The sly, cunning smirk that instantly replaced her grin was near terrifying. "Has anyone gotten to the bottom of the contents page yet?"

Well and truly intrigued now, Felix and Kim instantly looked over Wade's shoulders and gasped along with him the second their eyes met the bottom of the page.

"VG Hero Collaboration?" Apparently they were the only ones caught off guard, for Henry was gaping at Bulma with sheer disbelief. "What's that about?"

"You know, VG sounds _really_ familiar." Wade cried, frowning hard around the room as the gears turned in his head, trying to connect unseen dots.

"And you know, two apprentices do tend to work with worldwide heroes." Felix pointed out, pointing from Wade to Jazz before tilting his head curiously at the younger redhead. "You know, you don't look the slightest bit surprised, Jazz."

"Well, I'm not really." Jazz shrugged, though she was watching the smug Bulma thoughtfully. "After all, Danny's a much more personal part as to why I'm here."

"Actually, Danny Phantom and Jazz's situation is part of what started the idea of bringing all of you here." Bulma declared, immediately shutting everyone up as everyone's attention, now more suspicious than anything else, moved back and forth from her to Jazz.

Kim however, was barely paying attention. Her mind was reeling. VG. That was something she'd seen many times and knew, subconsciously, that it was a very important pair of letters. Now, after all the jumps of random memories she couldn't remember making that popped up today, they were even more important to her. Gohan, Roxas, Danny Phantom, they were all associated with these two letters.

'_And so am I.'_ Slipping her hand into her handbag, she absentmindedly felt around until her fingers slid over a cold, rectangular piece of metal. Pulling it out, well enough to draw everyone's attention, she held up the device she'd found with a strange note on her dresser one day so many months ago that even Wade couldn't hack into. There on the lid that revealed a small computer, were the two bright, bold letters. VG.

"This was made here, wasn't it." It wasn't a question.

"That's right." Bulma grinned, sticking her hand into the draw again. This time, when it rose, it was holding an identical device. "Just like all the others. And it is because of these that Jazz came here and isn't a wreck at the disappearance of Danny. It's called a Vcom, a computer and communication device used solely by the Valour Guardians."

'_Valour Guardians!'_ Those two words set off more in Kim's, and everyone else's heads than anything before it. What seemed like countless clips of a life forgotten surged through her head, faster than she could register, yet all of them fractured, incomplete. Most people were still in shadow, and she could never tell what she was fighting or laughing about, but still, so much information she hadn't realised that she was yearning to reclaim came rushing back.

"_Wow, you really are skilled! It's rare I find someone with my level of martial arts at my age."_ Gohan had laughed as he told her that during a spar. She remember that he was the only one to match her skill with just hands and feet and she loved pairing up with him, though she was always a little nervous he'd forget to hold his massive strength back when he really got into it.

She remembered fighting Jack Spicer and Katnappe once with Danny and Roxas. She remembered Roxas having to go off and slaughter Jack's robots when the coward struck an emotional blow. She remembered a fun day at a lake with both those boys again and two others and ending up in the past. She remembered flying on the back of a dragon, fighting a man with long white hair and a black cloak who was floating before a heart shaped moon and so much more. And all of it revolved around those two words.

Pulling her head out of the fog, Kim opened the Vcom and turned it on, staring at the screen as it lit up with one word. Password. Looking up just long enough to see Bulma's encouraging look and the confused, disoriented ones of the others, she moved her fingers to the small keyboard and hit four buttons. _'VG03.'_

She couldn't stop the surprised gasp from leaving her mouth as the screen, rather than refuse her entry like it had so many times before, came completely to life and revealing to her a series of options. But the one she was most amazed with was right in the center.

_Valour Guardians Online._ Pushing the button without hesitation, she brought up a whole new screen, one that had five of eleven numbers lit up, each one, including her own, having a name and picture on either side of it.

VG01: Saiyaman. VG03: Kim Possible. VG04: Danny Phantom. VG07: American Dragon. She was a little thrown off for a second at the very human face next to that name, but a small, endearing smile grew a second later as her mind claimed that yes, this was the dragon and he was fun to be with. VG11: Really Incredibly Fast Guy. Now that was a mouthful! And what's more, her mind was drawing a total blank on that one. The picture of a humanoid Duck wasn't helping either. Her memory was far from perfect, but she was very confident that the number of Guardians ended at ten. That felt right. Nine, even more so. But still, she shrugged it off for now. Bulma clearly knew just about everything about all this. She could provide answers in a moment.

"So the Valour Guardians...They're a team...I think?" If Felix frowned any harder, he'd probably pop a vein as he stared down at the screen, his hands scratching vigorously at his head. "And Kim and Danny are both part of it?"

"That's correct." Bulma nodded, rising and gently pulling his arms down to his sides. All her slyness was gone now as she stared around at the gathered teens again, smiling brightly at each of them. "The Valour Guardians were a group of amazing teenagers, all coming from different groups and backgrounds, most of them, even teams. They first came together to fight an international threat known as Organisation 13 and continued from there, allying not only themselves, but their teams and entirely different aspects of the world, including the normal people, the magical creatures, ghosts, aliens, all of it. But after some time, another event happened that almost wiped us all out. I don't remember much of what that was; even I don't have a complete set of memories." She added quickly, as Kim opened her mouth, effectively cutting her off. "The long story short was that something happened that allowed the Guardians to fix it, involving a woman known as the Dimensional Witch, but this came with a price that resulted in the world forgetting what was hidden before the Organisation attacked and everything connected to it. However, while most of the world will never remember what happened and the unity it held, the Guardians and those who were well connected personally to them are starting to remember. This was accelerated by villains who attacked some of the Guardians in hopes of stopping them from reforming. Saiyaman, the American Dragon, Danny Phantom, and through them, me, the Fentons, and a few others, have gained a lot of it back.

"The event however, has left Phantom in another dimension." She went on, only stopping for a moment to have another sip of her coffee. A moment none of them could see over fast enough. All of them, bar Jazz, who clearly already knew all this, were staring at her intently, silently demanding more information. "He is on his way back, with the help of an alley by the name of King Mickey. And fortunately for the Fentons, when I designed the Vcoms, I took into account that two Guardians were capable of interdimensional travel. It took an enormous amount of work, but I did manage to develop them enough so that you can communicate over them with someone travelling the dimensional pathways. We'll get into the details on that later, I promise." She added, shaking her head with a smile as she watched each teen grow visibly more lost and confused. "The only thing you need to know up front about all this is that Jazz coming here, and she, Gohan and his travelling companions restoring a lot of my memories gave me the idea of gathering brains and tech support people associated with the Guardians. This way, we can reconnect all of them and operate in a possibly better way than ever before.

"Each one of you is connected to and assists one of the heroes that make up the Guardians." She went on. "Or even a full-fledged hero yourself, in one case." She added, with a grin Henry's way. "That is ulterior motive to all this. The hope that together, we can regather the Guardians and use the skills that allow us to support the individual we've worked with to help all of them excel."

The whole room went quite after that and Bulma just let it stay that way. She knew full well, the information she'd given them, the memories it might have triggered, it would overwhelm all of them. Wade, Henry, especially Kim, they were all holding their heads, almost in pain as everything buzzed around their minds. Felix was faring better, though the return of memories was very little for him, not really having much association with Kim's hero life before recently. Jazz was more or less fine. She'd dealt with most of it before. In fact, she was already out of her seat and guiding them all through the mental whammy, trying to calm and settle them.

Offering them all the time they needed, Bulma headed for the monitors and computer systems around the room, making all the preparations she needed. When they finally did get their heads wrapped around everything, they were both going to want and need more details. Fortunately, Bulma had found everything the Guardians had stored in their archives and within Capsule Corp. When they were ready, she'd have all the precise, detailed information they could ever ask for up and ready to go.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Hey readers. Just thought the older readers would be interested in knowing that this chapter is entirely new, not one recycled scene in it. Well, enjoy.

* * *

**Setting The Schemer's Pawns**

"You've got a lot of gall, now don't you? What do you think you're doing dragging me to your little hole in the ground?"

"Ah, you have arrived." Rising to his feet, Vlad turned away from his work and to his latest guest with a smile. One that was not returned, but he supposed that that was to be expected. After all, she was currently stuck inside his prison cube and less than delicately dropped to the ground by Skulker. "I apologise for the abrupt and...less than delicate manner of bringing you here. I assure you that it was necessary and the payout will be well worth it, Lady Spectra."

Crossing the distance between them, Vlad casually shut down the cube, reverting it back to its small, hand sized form and releasing his desired accomplice, a beautiful looking woman with red hair styled into horns and a smart, red suit. Looking at the young, green eyed beauty, you'd never know that she was a ghost. That is, until she crossed her arms and glared at Vlad with eyes turning completely red and glowing.

"Let's get one thing straight, Plasmius! I am not one of your dimwit cronies." She snapped, jerking her head back at a bristling Skulker behind her. "I am not at your beck and call, nor am I doing any of your dirty work."

"Oh, Skulker isn't a minion, my dear, he is a business associate." Vlad replied, keeping his voice light and casual. "He performs favours for me and I supply him with payments of new and upgraded equipment. He stays because he benefits from our partnership. As can you, quite handsomely I believe, if my next venture is a success."

Admittedly, he was mostly just prettying it up. Skulker truly was little more than hired muscle, but he had to make his offer look enticing. He needed Spectra on his side.

He'd much rather take care of the situation that was Kim Possible himself, as he'd originally intended, however, at this point, there was no such thing as being too cautious. Ghost detection and shielding tech was growing more developed and common these days and this phase of his plan would need constant supervision for an unknown amount of time.

Sad to say, his chosen recruiter, Dr Drakken, had unfortunately given up on taking over the world after being rewarded for saving it. Normally he'd move on to the next recruiter, however, in this case, Drakken was the only one with the sufficient relationships and reputation needed to gather his intended help, which meant the only option was to overshadow him. Which would still be fine, except it would need to be done constantly and that led to a number of ways that he could be exposed too soon. No, he needed help, competent help. Someone who knew how to twist and manipulate a mind.

That's where Spectra came in. If he could convince her of the benefit. If he couldn't, then all he'd just done was give himself an unnecessary prisoner and risk, both to his secrecy and his mental state. Spectra's power was dangerous, even to him.

"Oh, could I now?" Raising an eyebrow, Spectra's spoke with a very clear, unspoken 'get on with it' in her tone and scowl. Before, Vlad would have been irritated by it, but this time it brought a smile to his face. If she was willing to hear him out, then this would go a lot easier. "And just how would that be?"

"Why, do you not feed off of chaos, panic, fear and anxiety?" Vlad asked, raising his hands dramatically. "If you and I manage to pull off my latest venture, then the world will reek of it! You my dear, will have a power source more than great enough to keep you youthful and beautiful for decades!"

"Is that so?" All signs of irritation started to decline at that, her posture relaxing as hints of intrigue started dancing across her face. "That would be rather...delectable. And just how do you plan to pull this off?"

"Why, by enhancing the current panic and anxiety crossing the world with the absence of Danny Phantom. Only this world famous hero and, countless others, will meet a very publically announced end." Vlad answered, a dark, malicious smirk taking over his face. "You once aimed to cause misery with the death of the popular, peppy Jasmine Fenton in front of a whole school, correct? Well, think of how much misery and panic will be created by replacing her with Kim Possible and her allies with the world as the stage. One powerful, world renowned hero missing and another annihilated. With a few extra details on the side for extra emphasis, of course."

"I Like it." Spectra admitted, finally letting her anger go in place of excitement and glee. "So let's see if the details are worth listening to. You better have a good strategy in mind, Vladdy boy."

"Oh, I do, my dear." Vlad's smirk only grew as he offered her a seat and reached for the kettle. "One that's sure to continue creating that fear and misery you oh, so love long after we've finished our parts. Would you like some tea?"

...

Admittedly, Spectra loved this plan. It was simple in its base form, the chosen pawns for the job would be easy for her to have dance the way they needed them too and the resulting death and destruction would unleash fear, panic and misery the world over. Plasmius was right, this would create the perfect world for her.

Then there was the extras. A little extra power was never a bad thing. Going over the files as Vlad explained his plan, the pair of them had found a few little tidbits that would not only be great for this plan, but for two of them in general. That was why Spectra had sent Bertrand on a couple of errands of his own as she flew over and into a mountain in the middle of nowhere.

"And to think that he's supposed to be a retired villain." Spectra couldn't help the comment as the earth and stone gave way, revealing what could only be called the lair of a mad scientist. Giant, high tech machinery was scattered everywhere, as if the movers had just tossed it in the first open space they found. Glowing jars of all different colours were displayed in much the same way, none of them looking like the run of the mill mixtures and compounds. And right there, in the middle of it all, was her target, muttering to himself as he boiled the contents of a beaker and carefully moved add drops from test tubes into the mix.

Seeing the delicate work for what it was and not really wanting to risk an explosion, Spectra opted to just continue floating around invisibly for a little longer. Moving through the machines, admiring the lasers and God knew what else, a sly grin quickly grew. If nothing else, this junk would be very useful reinforcing Drakken's 'return to world domination'. If he had toys that could actually be carried, some of them might even help with her objective.

But that was for later. Right now, she had one more thing to check on before the plan commenced. Turning intangible again, Spectra flew through every wall and room, critically checking from corner to corner. Even the smallest shadows were scrutinized intensely in her search before she finally let herself relax. She'd check with Drakken when she was ready, but it looked like they were in the clear. Shego wasn't there.

Drakken's enhanced partner was the only potential problem in Vlad's plan. With her current status and intellectual mind, she'd need to be overshadowed too if she was involved and Vlad wasn't sure that would work out well. Strong willed people could resist overshadowing to an extent, something Shego definitely had. Normally they could work around the problem, but it was more than that. She also bore that green glow, a power derived from a comet. Vlad's studies into it revealed it to be a form of cosmic radiation, something that even ghosts could have adverse reactions to. No, while her aid would be desirable, too many details left her likely to turn on them at any time.

"Yes! Success." Heading back to the main lab, Spectra slowly floated toward her target just as he whipped his concoction victoriously into the air. "Perfectly stable! This new solvent will be perfect."

Waiting only long enough for him to lower the still concerningly glowing concoction, Spectra surged straight at him. Drakken didn't even realise she was there before she sunk herself into his body.

"Well, this would not be my first choice for a host." Pouting as she raised her new arms, she couldn't stop the look of pure distaste at the utter lack of strength. Of any kind. "This guy's so skinny and muscle free that I could probably jam him through the lid of a mailbox. All well, we all have to play down in the mud once in a while. Still, this better be worth it."

Dropping the liquid back onto the bench carefully, still wary of the claims of stability in a glowing substance, Spectra moved her host over to the large screened computer taking up a wall. Starting it up, she couldn't help but smirk. It appeared that Dr Drakken had made it his personal challenge to make the computer look as impressive and complex as possible, while in reality, it was simplistic to use. He didn't even have a password on the thing. It didn't take her even two minutes to find his contacts and begin sending her messages.

"And done." Her eyes glowed red and a devious smirk grew across her face as she hit the send button. Within moments, every villainous idiot Kim Possible had faced that wasn't currently in prison would receive her request. She was confident that they'd all come, if not for the chance to end Kim Possible, then for the stack of gold she'd proclaimed and promised to share. Humans were such easy creatures to manipulate, especially when desires of greed and revenge were involved. Vlad would get his little army, of that there was no doubt.

"The only problem now is the wait." Groaning, Spectra floated into the air, looking over her current body with a scowl once again. Oh, how she'd love to just suggest that he take a nap and leave him to do just that. However, it was only a matter of an unknown amount of time before one of the idiots she was summoning called or appeared, wanting details. She had to be ready when they did or risk them discovering her little ruse too soon. Which meant that she had to stay inside her current puppet. "Just tough it out Spectra. The rewards are worth it."

Especially when one of those rewards was already close at hand.

...

The sun had already long set over the port known as Mystic Cove Haven. Even from a distance, watching the town was like stepping into a history book.

Almost the entire town was made of white painted, wooden constructs and with the lack of electricity, fire pits and candles were alight and scattered everywhere, giving the place a warm glow that looked almost ethereal with the water before it and plants glowing freely around it. It was quite the different setting from the concrete jungles and neon lights that had become commonplace in the world.

Though quiet at night, it appeared that the townspeople were happily taking advantage of the warm weather. As you got closer, laughter and merry voices could be heard from all around town, with a series of gentle melodies from the bards. Embers and fireflies floated through the air as people danced around bonfires, bringing looks of joy and wonder on the faces of the children. Overall, this place that fought to hide from the affects of time and change looked almost exactly like what you'd expect at the end of a fairytale.

The sight of it had Bertrand gagging.

_'If only I could go down there.'_ Flying overhead, the green blob had to physically stop himself from doing just that. These people were far too happy for his liking. He wanted to ruin it. It would be so easy too. All he'd have to do was drop down and reveal himself. Shout and growl at a few people. Maybe transform into a giant spider. Everyone would be screaming and running for their lives in moments. The fear from the high pitched, screaming children alone would leave him feeling sated for days. None of them would have anything capable of stopping him, not to their knowledge anyway. He could run wild and free to his heart's content.

However, he could only growl and glare as he flew right passed them, invisible to them all. As much as he would love to start a panic, as much as the simple thought thrilled him, he couldn't blow his cover. To do so now risked compromising the plan. The worst he could do was spit down at them and ruin a few bonnets as he went on his way to his actual target. The most advanced looking building in the entire town. The lighthouse.

Grunting as the light flashed into his face, Bertrand quickly dropped his altitude and phased through the wall. Noting the darkness and simple layout, he halted his movement just long enough to shift into a large bat and fire a burst of echolocation. "There!" It only took a second for the burst of sound to send back an image of the whole area before he was swooping down the spiralling stairway. Coming to an instant stop halfway down, he transformed again, this time into his human form and smirked as stared at his prize resting on the wall. Rising himself higher up, he reached out and lifted his prize with ease.

...

"Phase one is almost complete. I have already had responses from half of our chosen guests."

"Is that so?" Vlad asked casually, stirring his tea. "Eager now, aren't they?"

"High and mighty is more accurate." 'Drakken' scowled, his eyes flashing red as his voice switched from his to Spectra's. "Gemini's God-like arrogance is far from charming and Dementor constantly questioned my intellect, when he wasn't repeatedly sneering over the concept of an alliance with his rival. I don't see those two sticking around for this, they think too little of Drakken's competence."

"Not to worry. They'll do their part." Vlad shrugged, completely unphased as he sank back into his armchair and took a sip. Dementor and Gemini didn't need to stick around long. In fact, he was expecting Gemini to ditch them. However, he would do his part in Vlad's plan first, of that there was no doubt. After all, there was no one in the world who'd love to rip apart Global Justice more than the Director's twin brother.

Things were falling into place even quicker than Vlad expected. That was good, very good, especially given the new circumstances.

Though he had no intention of letting anyone see him as anything less than completely in control, he was getting desperate. The knowledge that Kim Possible and her team had gone to Capsule Corp had not gone unnoticed, though he kicked himself repeatedly for not seeing a word of the trip beforehand. Seeing three Guardians reunite and induct a new duck into their ranks, he had known that the risk of them reaching out to the others was high, and he had watched them as closely as he could for any hints, however, he'd never once thought that Bulma Briefs would make such a move as this. That was a critical mistake on his part. Thanks to her, Kim was already being pulled back into the fold with all her resources and with the Wong boy drawn in as well, Justiman wouldn't be far behind.

_'I have to give it to the woman, she sure knows how to cause me grief.'_ Vlad had to fight to keep his nonchalant facade as that thought crossed his mind. The simple fact was that Bulma's actions were simple, but brilliant. She'd forgone the actual Guardians and targeted the people amongst their ranks that could cause the most damage. Henry Wong, codenamed Tech, was both more than capable of being a team representative in place of Justiman and had the technological and mechanical skills to assist almost any other faction with their equipment. On top of that, his technotelepathy made him infinitely more dangerous to Vlad's plans right now than almost any Guardian could ever hope to be. Meanwhile Wade was the heart of Kim's network itself. Even if Kim was defeated now, he could still successfully connect almost all of her contacts and resources with the other Guardians. To top it off, she'd even ensured their safety. No one had ever successfully attacked anyone in the home of the Z Fighters. That simply meant that the real threats within Kim's contacts had to go.

Finishing his tea, he took a moment longer to ensure his serene facade was still well maintained before setting his thoughts aside and returning his attention to the impatient, possessed man on his screen. "Thank you for the update, Spectra. Let me know how your meeting goes."

"Hope for your sake that it goes well." Spectra growled right before the screen turned blank. Which Vlad was thankful for, for it gave him the freedom to drop his facade and glare furiously at the monitor. He did not like being threatened, especially by those that could back it up. Spectra could ruin him if she chose to and he had no doubt that she would if the plan failed. She'd feed happily off his anxiety and stress as she sent every ghost hunter, Global Justice agent and who knew who else his way simply by informing them that he was back. And to make it even worse, he couldn't do anything about it. He needed her cooperation. He had to keep her happy.

"I also have to keep the plan on track." Muttering to himself, he pulled himself right back to his computer and his searches. The data for his plan against Justiman was coming along well, right on schedule. At least on the old one anyway. With the recent turn of events, he really needed to speed it up, especially since acquiring what he needed for his plan would be tricky. However, that wasn't his main objective just now. No, for now, a distraction was a priority.

Vlad knew Wade kept tabs on Kim's frequent threats. If all of them were too silent for too long, his suspicion could be triggered. If that happened, his searches risked the discovery of their sudden gathering and if it happened too soon, then the plan could be interrupted before it could be completed. He couldn't let that happen.

Normally, he'd just hack the system and set up a virus. However, in this case, that would be a foolish mistake. Wade's firewalls were top notch and his programming talent was as high as it got. If he did anything invasive, he'd risk Wade discovering him himself. No, he needed another way to divert attention. Still, that shouldn't be too hard with Team Possible's nature and it wasn't like they needed to be distracted for long. One or two incidents would be more than enough.

Fortunately, Wade already seemed distracted by his new opportunities and the revelation Bulma had set off. It was one of the few benefits of the woman's stunt. Together, that should keep him preoccupied for a good while. At least long enough for Vlad to set something else up.

"Perhaps a small disturbance a little closer to their new home would suffice." Vlad mused as his eye caught sight a big flicker in the upper monitors, freezing the image. He'd had them on for a while, further studying Kim Possible's skills and flaws. It had revealed to him a number of her old opponents that he wasn't even aware of, which was wonderful. He had more pawns if he needed them. However, he only needed one right now and this one should be more than enough to sooth any concerns.

After all, he didn't need them in the dark for too long. With any luck, his plan would be done and Kim's network would be annihilated by the end of the week.


	5. Chapter 5

**Settling Minds and Mixing Designs**

It had been an interesting way to reveal the past, Jazz had to admit that. Bulma definitely had her fun with that mental whammy. Still though, the budding psychologist in her was a little annoyed with the big reveal. She felt that it probably should have been handled a lot more gently. After all, it wasn't every day someone told you the hugest, most dramatic events of your life changed an entire world, lasted for about a year and you don't even remember any of it. Particularly in cases such as Kim, where the mention and evidence of such events brings back tidal waves of memory. By the time the others had all gotten over the shock, she still looked completely overwhelmed.

That was expected of course. Kim actually was a Guardian, she was far more involved and connected with everything and everyone she'd forgotten than even Bulma had been. Jazz had got off relatively easily that night in Hong Kong, when Gohan, a talking duck named Huey and Jake came to talk to her family. Not being too deep into it all before, she simply got a few resurfacing memories of the world in general, news reports, names and faces she'd forgotten visiting Danny and a few nightmares involving the black monsters her mind called the Heartless for the most part. Some feelings resurfaced with them too, as well as some thoughts she'd pondered over the group throughout its time, but it was basically just enough for her to believe it and be comfortable with it. Henry appeared to be in the same situation now that she'd found herself in weeks before, accepting it and mulling over his own personal thoughts about it. Felix was easily the least affected and basically just remembered a few names and comments, a result of the fact that he wasn't a part of the hero world and therefore had little association with the Guardians at all during their time, mostly getting all he knew from the TV and conversations with Kim and Ron, and Monique appeared to be in more or less the same situation once she was informed, maybe remembering a little more. Ron was easily the most vocally blown away, but even he seemed to have the same level of recollection as Henry, maybe a little more thanks to Kim's longer and more in-depth connection as a Guardian than Ryo's. Wade was hit with a memory surge apparently comparable to Bulma's by the end of it, but rather than being overwhelmed, he took it in stride and even got excited as knowledge of magic, scenarios and amazing technology, both alien and human, he'd once gathered returned to him. He prioritised what he needed like the genius that he was and immediately moved on to find out what Bulma had planned on her joint hero support project, drawing a curious Henry in along the way. But as for Kim, after looking through a few of Bulma's files, she went to find the room she was sharing with Monique with a bottle of water and a packet of aspirin. She was done for the day.

'_Information overload.'_ Jazz sighed with a shake of her head before letting the subject die. There was nothing she could do about it now except let Kim rest and sort her head out. Which she was fine with. After all, Jazz had her own headache inducing data to deal with.

Seeing as nothing else was really planned for today after that little introduction meeting, Jazz was quite content to sit down comfortably at the desk she'd basically claimed as her own in the computer bay portion of Bulma's lab and work on one of her own projects. Or rather, modify one of her parents' old ones.

Blueprints and notebooks filled with both neat, factual and terribly messy, crude writing covered the entire desk the computers didn't touch while the computer screen showed a 3D model of a very unusual looking metal suit. Jazz's eyes were forever glancing over all of it back and forth as she typed, only growing more frustrated as she went on. The data was ridiculously complicated, even without her father's lack of proper spelling, grammatical structuring and actual words running wild all through it, often interrupted by 'take that ghosts'! Though she wasn't ever really mechanically inclined or bearing the level of knowledge of ectoplasm that her parents did, she'd gotten a lot better in recent times at both developing and constructing a lot of their inventions, but this one...it was something of a different world! And it was driving her crazy that her sometimes silly and childish parents had actually succeeded in developing something so complex that she could barely grasp any understanding of its data, let alone how it worked. She absolutely hated being wrong or stumped!

"AUUHH! Since when are my parents this good?" Groaning as she found herself lost and confused for the twentieth time, she threw her head into her hands and rubbed her temples, trying to relieve the stress induced headache starting to form. Then she closed her eyes too as she realised that the bane of her existence was still staring her in the face. Maybe she should take a break.

"Something troubling you?" Unprepared, Jazz nearly jumped right out of her seat at the voice, but settled for just whipping up her stunned face to find Wade by the door, watching her amusedly. In addition to that, she caught Henry in her peripheral vision, giving her a raised eyebrow from the mechanic bay and blushed, sending him an apologetic look. She hadn't even noticed he'd been working over there, she being so wrapped up in her work and him being ridiculously quiet for someone working with machines.

"Can I see it? Maybe I can help."

"Um, yeah." She mumbled, only feeling more embarrassed by the second. She didn't like it when she needed help with anything academic. Though, that being said, when she did, she was quick to get or accept it. Not even her pride was allowed to interfere with her learning. So, she forced a grateful smile on her face as Wade beamed at her, making his way beside her. "Though be warned, even geniuses are baffled by anything my Dad's written."

"So it's a family project?" Intrigued, Wade immediately picked up the blueprints and looked over every detail and note. Jazz couldn't help the genuine grin that grew on her face as she watched him, he looked like a kid in a candy store. "The Fenton Ecto-suit? Looks interesting."

"It should." Jazz nodded, turning very serious. "It's easily the most advanced and powerful thing my parents ever made. And by far the most dangerous, even to the person using it."

"What?" Wade cried, baffled, though never taking his eyes off the paper. "How is it...oh, my GOD!"

BANG!

Both Wade and Jazz flinched as something heavy crashed into metal at his cry before looking up to find one of Henry's projects in pieces on his work bench.

"Wade!" The boy in question shrugged and offered a sheepish apology as the startled Henry turned exasperated and worried eyes back and forth between them and his tech. His hands were already flying all over the place and his eyes were glowing, quickly assessing the damage before sighing in relief a moment later. Letting his power fade from his eyes, the boy shook his head before apparently deciding to give up and set his stuff aside before heading towards them.

"When I'm working, please keep it down." He asked, though it brought relief to the nervous African American that, while firm, there was no actual anger behind his words. "All forms of telepathic abilities require focus and if I'm doing something delicate I could easily cross wires and cause explosions if I'm distracted. Or just ruin the whole thing."

"Or send a car careening at you." Jazz added lightly, chuckling a little at Wade's surprise. "I saw it the first day we were here. Vegeta's so arrogant and rude that he actually taunted Henry into doing it."

"And he just punched it to a stop." Henry sighed exasperatedly. "Good thing Bulma took care of paying the owner back. I don't have that kind of money."

"So anger sets your power off?" Wade asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Any form of mental stimulation can set my power off." Henry replied, pulling a seat over for himself before Jazz's table. "That's the reason I work so hard to maintain my mental discipline. If I let loose, all the tech around me goes wild and the results are completely unpredictable. But we can talk about me later. What has you two going crazy?" He asked, staring over everything, waiting only long enough for Jazz to nod her consent before picking up some files and checking out the screen.

"This suit! Its design is beyond anything I've ever seen!" Wade cried, immediately throwing the blueprints into the others' faces. "If this thing could actually be made-"

"It was once made." Jazz cut it off, leaving Wade gaping in a strange mix of shock, wonder and sheer disbelief. "My parents were working on it and completed it during the invasion of Pariah Dark. It's the only reason my brother was able to defeat him."

"Danny Phantom used this?" Henry cried, staring in wide eyed amazement. "No wonder he won then! If this thing was built and someone as strong as Phantom operated it, they'd make Vegeta look like a joke!"

"You have no idea." Jazz drawled, pushing the paper out of her breathing space. "Speaking from personal experience, the suit works by taking the pilot's abilities, such as strength and speed, and amplifying them a hundred fold. It can also shoot ectoplasmic blasts from its hands. However, if someone with ghost powers uses it, you find that the design was accidentally compatible with their powers and amplifies all of them too! Back when he first used it, Danny couldn't create a single clone, but with this thing, he made three with ease and the energy blasts he released were apparently enormous, not that I got to see it."

"I can't believe something like this exists!" Wade exclaimed, finally taking a seat beside them as he turned his eyes on to the notebooks. "A suit designed to channel the power of the human body and amplify it? Technology connecting so intimately with living biology? That's beyond amazing!"

"It's beyond dangerous!" Jazz retorted, a little harsher than she'd intended, bringing Wade right off his cloud. "The suit basically uses the pilot as one of its batteries. Even only using the incomplete, lower half of the suit for a minute, my Dad almost died and was exhausted for the rest of the day. Danny lasted a lot longer, but he's a ghost hybrid! That kind of body can handle the strain a lot longer, but even he almost died in the battle with the Ghost King."

"What about you?" Henry asked, frowning curiously as she turned to him. "You said you speak from experience. You've used it, right?"

"Yeah." Jazz nodded, biting her lip with a frown at the memory. "After the Ghost King fiasco, Plasmius stole it and worked to modify it so it wouldn't waste the user. In a long story that involved duping him, he forced me to fight Danny with it. We tricked him and had the suit blow up in his face. It was far too powerful and dangerous to exist."

"And yet you're making it again?" That seemed a bit weird to Henry and Wade seemed to agree, if he was reading the baffled look right. He had to agree, that suit was an ultimate weapon. It could turn anyone into an unstoppable warrior of death and destruction, assuming that they didn't die from it themselves. Why risk such a thing ever reaching the hands of an enemy, especially when they'd just learned just how many heroes and potential allies were actually in the world?

"No. Not exactly." Jazz replied with a shake of her head before pointing to the screen, redirecting both boys' attention. "I've been trying to determine just how it works so I can use the data to create a similar, but weaker suit. The ideal design will increase your natural, physical abilities tenfold, rather than a hundred. I'm also hoping to find a way to make it only draw on the user's strength when they need it to, instead of constantly, to ensure that it doesn't become life threatening. But of course, if that's the case, then the user will need to be able to move and run even when the suit's not activated, otherwise they become a sitting duck, so it'll need to be more like armour than sitting in a robot. I thought a DNA recognition system might be a good idea too, so the wrong people can't use it. But," She added, quickly growing exasperated again as she threw her hands up at all the paperwork. "I can't start even trying to design the new suit until I fully understand the old one and this stuff is well above me!"

"Well, maybe we can help." Wade grinned, looking up briefly before turning back to the notebook in his hands. "I built Kim's battle suit and plenty of other stuff before and Henry's a technopath. Between the three of us, we'll have it all worked out in no time, right?"

"It would be a lot easier if there was a prototype for me observe already built, but yeah." Henry nodded with a grin, grabbing another book only to give it an affronted look as he saw Jack's work. "Though this might slow it down. Still, we can get it done. I might even already have an answer to your power transference."

"Really?" Jazz's eyes lit right up at that, leaning closer with a smile.

Nodding his head, Henry pulled himself up and back over to his station for a moment before returning with what looked like part of a Gatling gun at first glance. That is, until he slipped it onto his wrist.

"This is one of my Gatling gauntlets. I made them myself" He explained proudly, raising it onto the bench right in front of his two, suddenly very nervous, new friends. Though seeing the looks, he quickly gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it doesn't have bullets or anything, you won't get hurt by it. In fact, without me it's completely powerless. You see, it's powered by my own techno-telepathic energy. The energy is gathered and shaped through it into the form of energy bullets, lasers or blades. I also created the metal arm Justiman uses. It works similarly, gathering and concentrating his unique type of energy to turn the power into an energy attack, like his Thunderclap or Voltage Blade techniques. I'm sure we can find a way to make my technology compatible with yours."

"I bet I can help with your plans already too." Wade added with a grin. "After all, Kim's battle suit has a repairing function, enhanced jumping tech, a forcefield, adds a slight increase to her punches, can transform the hand into a solid laser scooper and turn her invisible while still adding basically no bulk, weight or denying flexibility. I'm sure I could help minimize the amount of weight and restraining room the suit would need. And in return, maybe I could use some of your tech to upgrade Kim's suit?" He smiled, his voice turning questioningly at the end.

"Of course! That's what we're technically all here for, right?" Jazz chuckled as Wade beamed at her, Henry nodding beside her. "Trying to reform a hero network and use our combined talents and knowledge to help each and every one of them. I'm happy to provide tech to anyone who rejoins this little alliance."

"I couldn't agree more." Henry stated happily, though his face quickly warped into a scowl as he looked at the notes again. "Though, let's get through this mess and try to design one successful suit before we go nuts on everyone else's gear."

Quickly agreeing with a laugh at his irritation, the three of them got right down to it. Sparing a moment, Jazz sent both boys thankful smiles before diving right in along with them. And it wasn't long, much to her surprise, before they actually made real headway, each of them focusing on one feature and informing the others of the required details and making their own set of notes before moving on to the next. The method only got even better when Bulma came and found them a little later and joined right in. Right after almost giving all three of them heart attacks as she cheered for joy at the sight of the first collaboration already well underway of course.

...

It was well into the next morning, nearly afternoon, before Kim felt that her mind was settled enough to function again. She still felt like she'd been run over by a steam train though. Ever since the orientation, her brain had been doing constant cycles of the same events. She'd hear, see or think something that would trigger a number of memories, so many that her head would hurt or spin, that would bring up even more questions. So, when her head settled a little, she was compelled to go through Bulma's files or the data on her Vcom and begin the process all over again.

She was pretty sure she had most of the necessary details now though, along with a few comic relief moments, and her headache was dulling, so that was a relief. Still, processing everything was a much bigger handful. The weight of the achievements the Guardians made when they were together was absolutely amazing and sadly, most of it was gone now, long forgotten. It was mindboggling just how much harmony they'd unintentionally caused and worked to maintain, only to give it up to revive a world consumed in darkness.

Then there was her teammates and friends. Each one, even those who were related, brought a completely new set of abilities, realms and powers into her life, more than she ever thought could possibly exist. Ghost powers, aliens and their tech, five different variations of magic, the details behind just them were overwhelming. Then the situations and enemies they'd faced, like the Fright Knight, alien invasions, going back in time! It was amazing that her brain hadn't exploded with all that knowledge suddenly pouring back into it.

Still, it did bring some clarity to more recent days. Why she frequently had unusual dreams of witches and yellowed eyed monsters or imposing figures in cloaks, why déjà vu moments kept occurring every time she saw or heard about something ghost related or when she'd run into a thief calling herself Katnappe. It also added more insight as to why she started drawing her friends onto the team, even though they'd just won their greatest battle ever. She and Ron had needed help to do it, a part of her had remember the invasions that had taken all of the Guardians to stop and she had resorted to try and recreate the strength she'd grown accustomed to being supported by.

But she wasn't thinking of any of that right now. No, sitting on her bed, playing with her Vcom, the returning memories she was thinking about was the lost friends. Now that her memory was well on its way to fully restored, she was almost brought to tears over them. She suddenly missed them all. Some more than others, but all of them were special to her and she hadn't seen even one of them in many months, hadn't even remembered the people who'd stood beside her, cared for her on and off the battlefield. Sure, she knew that that wasn't her fault in any sense of the word, but that didn't stop the guilt and sadness.

So there she was, fiddling with the Vcom and trying to work up the nerve to call one of them. She so wanted to call all of them, to catch up with them, to be reassured of their friendship and to be able to talk to someone who was just as blown away by all this as she was. But still, she couldn't shake the stupid, senseless doubt that they'd be angry with her. It was ridiculous, they'd all forgotten her and each other too, no one was going to feel betrayed or abandoned or anything, so what was the problem? She was only the fourth old member to actually reactivate the com system for crying out loud, there were four other members in this world alone that had yet to do that! Anyone she could reach would just be happy to have her back, like she was, right?

"So where's your damn problem?" Kim scowled at herself, kicking her foot against the bed. "Stop acting like some lovesick twit about to call a crush and activate the damn communicator that could put the Kimmunicator out of business!"

It took a few more minutes to work up the nerve, but in the end, she forced herself to do just that. Bringing up the contacts page, she briefly looked over the small list of possibilities before setting her eyes on the American Dragon. Danny was still beyond their world and he was currently beyond reach. She knew her Vcom could communicate with another in the dimensional pathways just like the others', so she guessed that he was currently resupplying in another dimension or something. Gohan would have made a good talk too, he was kind and forgiving to a fault, but Kim remembered having a better relationship with the dragon. Jake was laid back, fun loving and always excited to see a friend. It would do her nerves good to see the bright ball of energy smiling at her and from what she'd heard of his recent days, she was sure that he could use all the reassurance of friends that he could get.

He apparently still didn't waste any time answering calls either, for ten second barely passed before the calling screen was replaced by the face of a stunned, but very happy Asian American boy.

"Hey Kim! Man girl, it's great to see ya. Finally found a few missing tidbits in that head of yours, huh?"

"More like had them jack hammered into my skull." Kim pouted, getting a laugh from Jake as she rubbed her head. "I came with Wade to meet Bulma. She offered him an apprentice position and she took great joy in smacking all of us in the face with every detail imaginable. My head only stopped reeling about ten minutes ago and this happened yesterday afternoon!"

"Oh wow, you did get it rough." Jake tried to sound sympathetic, he really did, but his amusement in all of this was radiating from him. Normally Kim would get snarky at him for laughing at her pain, but now that she was relaxing and looking at him properly, she could tell he could really use a good laugh. "Mickey told me after Danny's presence was already setting stuff off and even then, he only gave us the basics. Most of what I remember has come back slowly since then."

"Do you think you're caught up?" Kim asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Yeah. There are still a few blank, weird moments, but I could probably keep a conversation about anything you ask me going." Jake nodded before turning a little concerned. "So how are you dealing with it? Are you ok with it? Weirded out, overwhelmed? It's a lot to deal with in small amounts, I have no idea how you'd handle everything coming back at once."

"I am very overwhelmed! Vast depths of knowledge in things that most people called myths, battles with beings that make my toughest villains look like jokes, friends I forgot even existed, it's all crazy! And on top of that, I can't shake the guilt of forgetting you and the others in the first place! I mean, yeah, we'd only known each other for about a year and we hardly spent every minute together with everyone, but we were still all good friends and owed each other our lives more than once. How could I just forget about people who have done so much for me?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty crappy feeling, isn't it?" Jake nodded as Kim took a few deep breaths. It was the first time the frazzled girl had taken one since she started her rant. "Those feelings returning and comparing to the current ones is a bit of a minefield too. When I was getting my memories back, I had both a bit of jealousy and an inferiority complex to Danny going on. That was as painful as hell."

'I can imagine." Kim replied as she calmed herself. "So how did you deal with that?"

"Danny actually helped me discover a little trick to my magic and upped my game." Jake answered with a grin, raising his arm up to the screen. Kim's eyes widened, stunned, as his whole arm glowed reddish orange before it burst into flame, as it always did when he transformed. However, this time instead of making him dragonic, the fire simply danced over his flesh and sleeve without so much as singeing the fabric. "He taught me how to control the flames through my aura. I can't make projective fire attacks like this or use it in my dragon form, but I can make them as big as a bonfire around my body if I want. I'm learning to use it to propel myself and mixing it with my human talents too. I'd say I'm getting pretty tough."

"I'll bet. That's amazing Jake." Kim said softly, staring in awe even as the flames receded. It was definitely impressive and very useful. Not to mention that his claims of this technique's power outshined most of his dragon abilities. He couldn't breathe that much fire at once, that's for sure. To hear that Danny had managed to guide him into something that amazing... "You should have trained with Danny a lot sooner."

"Yeah. And hung out with him more." Jake was quick to agree. "He is such a cool guy, you know? But what can I say, we all had our own preferred group choices amongst the Guardians. You and Rai were mine."

Well, that was definitely true. Looking back on it, she had to admit everyone found other Guardians they were most comfortable with and some they did very little with. Danny had been drawn to the Tennysons, partly due to his and Ben's shared love of video games and the cousins' space connections. Kim had Jake and the girls as her go to friends and partners, though Gohan was her all time favourite sparring partner, being the only one to match her level in martial arts. The only one who made sure to spend a great deal of time with everyone was Roxas, the one everyone had a soft spot for, and even he was closer to Raimundo, Namine and Ben than anyone else. They were just starting to mix it up, training wise at least, when the mess Maleficent started broke loose. If the Valour Guardians were fully restored, they'd have to fix that. She'd be a better friend, not just a teammate.

"So, anything special change in your life recently?" Jake asked, breaking her chain of thought. "Any serious problems or moments of entertainment, anything of real note?"

"Team Possible expanded." She offered with a grin. "Subconscious instinct and the last alien invasion helped that start up. The media hasn't gotten wind of it or doesn't care yet, but my friends Felix and Monique have joined my crusade to save the world."

"Oh yeah? Sweet girl, you'll have to introduce them to me." Jake smirked. "So, tell me about them, how did they join? Come on girl, I'll deny I ever said it, but I need some gossip time. I've only got Gohan and Huey right now, so as interesting as they both are, nothing about the civilised world ever pops up."

"Sure, if you return the favour and tell me the details of this Duck of Doom sitch you're involved in." Kim nodded, biting her lip. "Is it really Donald? How did that happen?"

"Get comfy, girlfriend. By the time we're done, Gohan will be back from his day long fishing trip and then you'll get to hear all about that too." True to his word, they were talking for hours, each of them recounting their stories, feelings over particularly emotional circumstances, jokes, just about anything that came to mind. It did them both the world of good.

...

Leaving her room, Kim decided that calling Jake had been the best idea ever. Sure, a lot of his recent history had tears falling from her eyes and created a vendetta against Dark Dragon and Charmcaster, but overall, they had had a great time. After finding out that she was staying at Capsule Corp for a good few weeks, he even promised to drop in once they ditched the dragons tailing him. Assuming they didn't get a better lead on finding Donald, of course. If that happened, Team Possible was going to find them and kick the wicked witch that took him where the sun didn't shine. Sure, it would have been better if she'd gotten to talk to Gohan too, but she was sure that she'd hear from him later. He and Huey were still off getting food or clues even when she'd hung up, but Jake promised to tell them all about their talk. She couldn't wait for the call, she'd love the chance to catch up with and meet Gohan and Huey respectively.

But for now, there were plenty of new and old faces to find already in the building. Though they were a little hard to find in such a big place, especially since Kim got lost a good few times. Still, she found her way to them eventually. The battle cries, cheers and small explosions didn't hurt either.

"Man, look at them go! Sure you don't wanna jump in too?"

"Are you nuts? Who in their right mind gets in the middle of something like this?"

"Us? Seriously Felix, did you have your head under a rock after that last mission to that psycho golfer's island? Not all of us were safe in the sky, hover boy."

"Safe? I ended up being an easy target!"

BANG!

"What's going on?" Felix and Monique flinched at the sight before them before turning welcoming smiles to Kim as she entered the training room. Both were sitting near the door, well away from the invisible barrier.

"See for yourself." Felix pointed across the room. "Ron's taking on the pint-sized powerhouses."

Kim didn't need him to say anything, one look at the others and her jaw was already aiming for the ground. Having finally mastered his mystical power, Ron was fully encased in a blue, glowing outline of a monkey and was pulling off gymnastic and offensive feats that were on par with Kim's, only his had a lot more force behind them. Though nowhere as fast, he was proving to be even stronger than Trunks and his flexibility more than made up for the lack of flight, resulting in an intense three way fight.

"I thought this was crazy when just the kids were going at it." Monique sighed, shaking her head as all three met and smashed at each other at once and hit the ground. The fallen fighters got up only for Ron to quickly and effectively jump, flip and redirect his movement all around the area in seconds, avoiding the retaliatory energy blasts and smacking both boys right back down again in the process. Though she'd seen that he'd really stepped up, quite amazingly so, Ron hadn't had a reason to completely cut loose and unleash his full power since graduation. The Saiyan boys were the first people he'd fought since the invasion that had the ability to stand up to the assault and Ron was taking full advantage of it. The sight before them was like nothing either she or Felix would have believed possible a few months ago. Hell, they had trouble believing it now.

Even Kim was still impressed with her boyfriend's growth. Seeing his power firsthand, she compared it to those of the Guardians and was pretty sure he was comparable in power to Danny and Jake overall, if not a bit greater, with enough raw strength to match Ryo's Thunderclap technique and an unpredictability to his unusual moves and twists that made him as tricky to fight as Raimundo. She really doubted that even she could take him on in a direct fight anymore, even with the battle suit. Watching him easily take on two Saiyan hybrids at once, even ones so young as Goten and Trunks, was definitely emphasising that opinion.

The match went on for a little longer, but it was clear who was going to win. Even when it turned to two on one, Ron was still outclassing them, ultimately ending with a flash of mystical energy from his hands knocking both boys down and groaning. Although, as impressive as the shot was, Kim could tell from one look at her boyfriend's face that it wasn't intentional, but rather an act of desperation. As both opponents had come at him, backing him into a corner, he'd grown terrified for his safety.

As great as they were, there were flaws in Ron's new abilities and the others had caught his biggest one, whether they realised it or not. Ron's incredible strength, skills and power all came from mystical energy, not muscle or mind. Though the mystical monkey power altered his flexibility to extremes even an Olympic gold medalist gymnast could only dream of and put a great deal of force behind his punches and kicks, his physical strength and tolerance to the attacks of others were no different than before. On top of that, the instinctive skill and recent discovery of it left him near useless with combat strategy. So cornering and overwhelming him was the best and easiest strategy to use against him.

"Oops. Is everyone ok? I think I overdid that one." Huffing a little as his adrenaline died, Ron quickly moved over to the kids, falling to his knees before them in near panic as they only groaned in return. "Oh no, stay alive kids, STAY ALIVE! That Vegeta guy will kill me if you don't."

"Ron, get a grip. They're just stunned." Kim groaned with a roll of her eyes, passing through the barrier and shutting it down as Felix rolled over with the First Aid kit.

"Yeah, like you're really tough enough to kill us!" Trunks grunted, trying to sound tough and force himself into a sitting position only to ruin it when he lost his balance and flailed all the way back down. "Saiyans are made to take a punch!"

"That was fun!" Though still a little shaky, Goten was already shooting Ron a big, bright smile as he rolled over. "I didn't know there were humans that strong on their own! I think you could take on Gohan's friend, Justiman. Can we do this again tomorrow? Please?"

"Yeah, sure kid. Why not? Hehe. Oh, thank goodness." Ron sighed, leaning back on his elbows as the kids shook off their aches and got back to their feet. "I'm not gonna die."

"So, now that we got the brawl out of the way, what do you say we get a late lunch and explore the city?" Monique suggested. "Metro City is supposed to be awesome! Mrs Briefs told me about all the killer malls in the area, wonderful cafes and a park that's full of beautiful water fountains and flower gardens. We could get a late lunch, see some of the sights and shop till we drop!"

"Ugh! They just got boring." Kim almost laughed at the look of distaste on Trunks' face as he grabbed Goten by the sleeve, dragging him away. "Come on Goten, let's head to my room."

"Yay! Toy time!" Trunks actually stumbled as the excited Goten overtook him once again, bringing a laugh from the young adults they left behind.

"They sure recover fast." Felix commented, resting his amused face in his hand.

"Heh, Saiyans. Nothing keeps them down long." Kim shook her head with a grin before turning back to Monique. "But yeah, I say let's go, get out of Capsule Corp's hair for a while. I could use a new wardrobe to take to college with me."

"You're going to London for college! You'll buy a whole new set of clothes there." Ron exclaimed, raising an eyebrow at her. "You've been going on about that since you chose which admission to accept!"

"Yeah, but clothes from Japan will be more exotic!" Kim responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world, quickly getting an encouraging nod from Monique. "And there's no reason I can't do both."

"Geez, women!" Ron just gave up, throwing his arms in the air as he turned to Felix. "How many clothes can they possibly need?"

"Enough each to create a fabric shortage in businesses for months." Felix laughed, completely ignoring the raised eyebrows and scoffs the girls sent his way. "But it won't be all bad, Ron. While they try on every item in the store, we'll go check out the video games. Like half of our games come from Japan you know, and come out a lot earlier too. I heard Goo Zombies five is already out here."

"Perfect! Let's go!" Well, that got Ron good and excited. Now it was the girls' turn to roll their eyes in exasperation. How guys got so excited over video games was well beyond them. Still, whatever, as long as those stupid things got the boys to go shopping with them, they were good.


	6. Chapter 6

**Shop Till The Sumo Dropped**

The mall experience basically went just how everyone imagined it would. The girls squealed at the sight before them, the boys held their ears with pained groans and everyone moved so fast, dragging everyone else with them to each and every shop that they almost figured out how to be in three places at once. Of course, since that wasn't actually possible for the normal human and fighting each other was hazardous, after half an hour, the girls dived shoulder deep into a cosmetics department while the boys made a beeline to an arcade. Needless to say, that worked out better for everyone.

Especially since the girls' next stop was a Club Banana.

"I can't believe how different the stock is here from home!" Monique gushed, running her fingers through a red, silk shirt. "I never saw any of this stuff in the store's potentials catalogues."

"Goes to show how even international, American founded companies are affected by different cultures." Kim grinned, her hands full.

"And it shows you just how much you have been holding out on me." Monique added with mock irritation, her hand on her hips as she turned pointedly to her best friend. "You never told me about any of this, girl! I'm hurt."

"I don't usually go shopping during my globetrotting." Kim shrugged, marvelling a pair of formfitting, silver pants. "Half the time we're in the middle of nowhere, remember? Or trying to stop an assassination? And then I usually had to get home before the next cheer squad practice or a trig exam with flights that could take half a day. Where was the time to shop? So, what do think of these?"

"With the right top, they'll look wonderful girl!" Monique grinned back, dropping the act as she scanned a rack and pulled out an emerald green sleeveless shirt. "Like this! It suits the pants and brings out your eyes. What do you think?"

"I think if it's comfortable, I'm buying them." Was Kim's response, both girls giggling as they headed for the change rooms.

….

"Score! Wrestling Federation Deluxe! Monique's gonna flip when she sees this!" Felix could only laugh as Ron jumped around like a monkey, the video game held in his raised hand.

"Doesn't she hate video games?"

"Not ones that have her beloved Pain King as a playable character." Ron replied, shoving it proudly right into Felix's face. Sure enough, both of his friends' favourite wrestlers, Pain King and Steel Toe, were right there on the cover. "She loves these ones, so much that she actually manages to cream me as often as I beat her."

"Wow, imagine if she played games as much as you did. She'd be the greatest gamer in the world." Felix grinned, taking the game and placing it on the pile on his lap. "By the way, you are shopping within your budget, right? I'm trying not to go broke." He added, pointing to the pile. Most of it was Ron's and it was getting big.

"Don't worry, I won't touch a cent from your wallet." Ron waved it off, dashing right out of the game section and heading toward the MP3s and headsets. "I've got a set amount of cash in my wallet that I am binding myself to. I won't even touch my cards. I gotta keep some money for Bueno Nacho's and a roof over my head."

"Wow. Ron Stoppable thinking ahead. Good thing I'm already sitting down."

"Oh, ha, ha! Extra ha!" Ron rolled his eyes as Felix snickered. "I get it, Ron's an idiot, never thinks past ten minutes."

"Unless he's predicting the next ridiculous, overdramatized disaster." Felix added helpfully with a bright smile.

"I can't believe you! You're supposed to be my best friend and my go-to partner after summer. How can you speak so poorly of me?"

"Because, after Kim, I know you better than anyone and best friends have a right to point out your flaws mercilessly?" Felix offered mischievously. "I mean, we do have to put up with your flaws more than anyone else, might as well get some fun out them. And yours are so amusing, before they cause anyone watching you to come down with severe vertigo and migraines anyway, you overdramatic goofball."

"I thought you were supposed to embrace my flaws and push me up, not smack me down." Ron retorted, staring down at him accusingly.

"Of course! I do that too. I just take the right road for the right situation." Ron gave up, there was no way he was going to win this. Felix' wit and quick responses were unmatched on their team, a feat in itself considering that Kim and Monique were always quick with a smart comment too. It was probably best to quit before someone important found him floundering.

Sighing in defeat, he took one more look around the shelves before deciding that he'd grabbed enough for now. "Whatever, let's go and pay for this stuff and head to the food court. We never did grab that lunch."

"Now you're talking my language." Beaming proudly, Felix was all too happy to follow.

…

"So where to next? There's so many shops, I can't decide!" Monique was having a ball. Her credit card was almost smoking at that point and she had to dump half her bags on Felix's lap already when they passed the boys on the way to the food court, but she just couldn't get enough! "We could hit that shoe store, those displays look amazing, or that store over there selling the traditional attire. I would love to see what we look like in those kimonos. Of course, I doubt we could actually buy one, I've spent a bit already and they look like they'd cost at least as much as our prom dresses. Or...

"Or maybe get you a case for that fancy communicator before your laser vision burns a whole through it." She drawled, raising an eyebrow as she turned to her best friend. Who had clearly not heard a word she'd said.

"What? Oh, sorry." Kim sighed, looking up sheepishly, her hand only tightening around her Vcom. "It's just...I thought Gohan would have called by now."

"The Saiyan boy?" Monique asked, giving up on the next store and guiding Kim onto the nearest bench.

"Yeah. He never made it back before Jake said goodbye. I was hoping he'd call me by now."

"Any reason why you're hung up on that in the middle of our international shopping spree?" Monique exclaimed, waving her hands around the area. "We are surrounded by killer stores right now! We're going to go into debt before we leave and it will be totally worth it! And it's not like your short on time, so what does it matter if he hasn't picked up a video phone yet?"

"I know, you're absolutely right. It's just that...well, it's partly because I haven't spoken to him in so long, that I forgot about him, you know?" Kim sighed again, dropping her head into her hands and rubbing her temples. "I feel bad about that. He was a good friend. Warm, bright, gentle. I really do want the confirmation that he's not angry at me, as stupid as it is for me to worry. I really want to see that big smile he always used to give us. I really want to see all of them, but I can't talk to most of the others yet and I don't know the duck boy at all, so I was hoping he'd reconnect with me by now."

"I'm sure he's just busy. He may not have even talked to the dragon kid yet." Monique replied, wrapping a reassuring arm around her friend. Admittedly, she was struggling to understand Kim's exact situation. Sure, a couple flickers of forgotten thoughts and memories had been nagging her since Wade told her about the meeting's revelations the night before, more so the more the forgotten past was brought up, but mostly, all she knew was what she'd read in Bulma's archives with the others. According to Bulma, whatever magic caused the global scale amnesia could only be overcome if you were heavily connected and involved in the forgotten events and clearly Monique was not. However, she doubted it'd be much different than remembering an old preschool bff. "Don't jump to conclusions Kim. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic when he finds out he can call you. Just like the dragon boy."

"Jake." Kim corrected, smiling a little as she shot Monique a thankful look. "You're right. I know you are. It's just hard to shake the feeling, you know?"

"Don't worry Kim, I'm sure everyone's dealt with the guilt of forgetting people at one point or another. But you have the excuse of mystic mumbo jumbo, girl! Embrace the handout." She smirked, playfully elbowing the redhead, getting a snort and slap on the arm in response. "Now tell me the other reason. I want to go back to building that debt I mentioned."

"That's...where it gets more complicated." Kim replied, biting her lip as Monique groaned, a soft 'of course it is' passing her lips. Though she still got a 'go on' look and tilt of her head in response. "You see, I've gained _so many_ memories since yesterday. A number of people, friends and foes, conversations and events, knowledge of people, creatures and societies that I never could have imagined existed. But there are still blank spaces. And feelings that I can't explain. Talking to Jake helped me sought out everything I remembered, but it also made me notice big gaps. Ones that Jake couldn't answer. Ones I can prove exist just by opening my Vcom and looking down the list of team members."

"You still don't remember a Guardian?" Monique frowned. She could see why that was troubling her just fine. The Valour Guardians were the heart to the old, now forgotten, world order. They knew each other pretty well, cared for and trusted each other with their lives. If she could still have no recollection of someone she was supposedly that close to, had so much association with her history, then who else was she still forgetting? And even if it was only one friend she'd forgotten, knowing that she still couldn't remember them now that she should had to sting. How many other friends had she lost?

"Justiman." Kim answered, biting her lip harder as she frowned down at her lap. "Ryo Akiyama. I checked his file. I know he only joined near the end of our time as Guardians, but still! It doesn't help that I can't find any records of why he joined us. There's nothing to jog the memories."

"Sure there is." Monique cried, grinning as she turned Kim's face back to hers. This one was an easy solution. "If it's Ryo you're worried about, then talk to Henry. They're from the same team, the Matrix Tamers I think. You should have asked him before we left, you silly girl."

"That's another issue." Kim replied, worrying Monique again as her eyes grew more and more unnerved. "I can't remember when I met Henry at all. I can't remember anything about him, but the moment I first saw him, my brain shifted right into red alert! I don't know what happened or why, but I can tell you right now that we've met before and he was my enemy."

"Say what now?" Well, that was the last thing she expected to hear.

"I can't even explain it, all I've got is the foreboding feeling!" Kim cried, throwing herself back exasperatedly. "I don't have a single memory of him. All I know is that the sense of danger I got around him was at the same level as it was when I was facing Warmonga! Whatever happened, we were on opposite sides of what I am sure were serious punches."

"Well then, that's all the more reason to talk to him." Monique stated firmly, placing her hand on Kim's shoulder and holding her steady as she looked her right in the eyes. "If Gohan hasn't called before we get back, push through the fear and find out what happened. Trust me, it'll work out. I talked to him last night and he is perfect boyfriend material! He's polite, respectful and perfectly friendly. Whatever happened, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. He and his team wouldn't be part of your little, secret society if he wasn't proven good after all. If you don't trust him, trust your other team's judgement." She added with a smile. "And if anyone can tell you about Ryo, it's Henry."

"Ok. You're right." Kim conceded, letting out a deep breath, much to Monique's relief. "I'll find him tonight. It's probably better to clear the air quickly anyway."

"Especially since we're leaving Wade in his company. It'll be good for your peace of mind." Monique nodded happily. "And don't go too crazy over missing memories. You only got all your forgotten ones back yesterday. Give yourself some time, girl. No one will blame you for it."

Only smiling brighter as Kim accepted her advice with a nod, Monique took a moment to give the girl a hug before it turned into a smirk, her eyes zeroing in on a jewellery store behind them. Pulling her best friend to her feet, she dived right in, dragging Kim right along. "Now come on, the perfect accessory to that new dress of yours is in this store and we are going to find it."

"I just hope it's in my price range." Kim just laughed, looking considerably more at ease than a moment ago and more than happy to be dragged to the display marked with the bargain signs.

However, they didn't even get halfway there before an ear piercing scream echoed throughout the area, quickly followed by the crash of shattering glass, from the very store they were heading for. More screams quickly followed as panic flooded the crowd, everyone scrambling to get away from the area as more smashes followed the first, leaving Kim and Monique struggling to stay standing amongst the crowd, before one more, significantly louder, smash bombarded their ears as a giant, black mass crashed his way right through a store window.

"HAHA! I am strong as a mountain! I AM NINJA!"

"OK, I don't know where to start with what's wrong with this picture." Monique muttered, slack jawed as she stared at the guy before her. Besides the clothes, there was nothing that said ninja about this guy. He was huge, fat and loud. The bag with overflowing jewellery he was carrying made him look more like a stereotypical burglar than a ninja, all of which stood out even more in the brightly lit area. Also, he was performing a heist in crowded store in broad daylight and declaring himself to the public as loudly as he possibly could!

"I'll say. The Sumo ninja's robbing a jewellery store? That's not his usual MO. Times must be tough." Kim mused, looking just as stunned as Monique felt. "How the hell did no one notice someone that big and conspicuous running around?"

"No clue. And the useless mall cops still haven't caught on!" Monique replied, frowning as the overweight ninja continued on his way, knocking away anyone in his way as he ran. "So I guess this is our job." She added, taking off after him.

"Our job." Only to freeze as Kim's voice met her ear. Whipping back around, her jaw dropped again at the look on her best friend's face. Kim's eyes were wide and unnerved, looking in all directions while the rest of her body was still as stone, her skin turning pale. "But..where..."

Monique couldn't believe what she was seeing. What was going on, Kim was never like this. Yeah, she'd been a little off during missions occasionally lately, growing nervous and a little unsure when Ron wasn't around, but it had never been anywhere this bad before. The girl was completely petrified!

"Kim? Girl, come on, snap out of it!" She cried, grabbing Kim by the shoulders and giving her a little shake. "He's getting away."

"Yeah...I know. But I don't know...I need to..."

'_This girl has completely shut down._' Monique thought, grimacing at the sudden mess before her. However, she didn't have time to deal with that. The screams and smashes were only continuing and getting further away. If she was going to help, she had to do it now, with or without Kim.

"Girl, we need to have another talk when this is over." Monique sighed, giving up on the redhead and turning her attention back to the ninja wrecking ball. Digging into her pocket, she silently thanked Bulma for her first gift as she pulled out a capsule. It was much easier carrying her gear around in that little thing.

Clicking the button, she tossed it into the air and grinned as it burst open with a puff of smoke, revealing a belt with multiple coiled ropes hanging from it and what looked like two metal, rectangular boxes, both bearing straps to hold them to her forearms and handles, complete with three buttons easily accessible from her thumbs. Snagging them out of the air as she ran, Monique snapped the belt around her waist and set both launchers in place before aiming both at her target and hitting the biggest buttons.

Immediately, they both fired metal balls connected to a rope each on either side and passed the sumo ninja. The dark clad thief simply went to laugh at the attempt as he watched it fly by harmlessly, however, before he could let out more than a snort, a smirking Monique wrapped her hands around the ends protruding from her launchers and rapidly swung and twisted them around. Within seconds, it was the sumo ninjas turn to gape as the ropes not only spun around him, but effectively tied themselves up around his legs, complete with a bow, and had his own momentum sending him crashing to the ground. "WHA? How can this be?"

"Impressive, no?" Monique called proudly, quickly closing the gap between them. "Kim taught us to play to our strengths and mine are fashion based. Who would have thought accessorising could teach you restraint technique's? You like?"

"Hai, tis an impressive trick. But you are still foolish!" Before she could even blink, a knife had slipped into the ninja's hand and slashed through the ropes with surprising ease before throwing the blade right at Monique not a second later, leaving the unprepared girl only able to watch in horror as the spinning blade came for her. "One trick ponies always first to fall."

"Nah, that's the idiot going solo." Monique fell right to her knees as a humming heralded a metal arm from above slapping the blade well away. Raising her head, she let out a thankful, watery smile as she found Felix' chair lowering itself between her and the ninja.

"Fortunately...we cover each others' backs. Try that again." Felix's laidback nature was nowhere in sight, something that unnerved Monique a little to be honest. He usually delved no further than concerned or to the point, even when situations started going south. However, no one had ever made an honest attempt at murder in front of them before either. Apparently, that was the trigger, for it was a very fierce persona that was facing the ninja now, daring the villain to give him a reason to throttle him. "You alright, Monique?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the save." Monique breathed, pulling herself to her feet and forcing herself to calm down. Never taking her eyes off their opponent, she hit another button on her wrist launchers, retracting the ropes and quickly attaching new metal balls to the end, readying herself for the next round. _'This guy's a genuine killer._ _No more taking him lightly.' _

"A cripple is your saviour? You insult me." Sumo Ninja cried, ignoring Monique entirely as he glared right back at Felix. Then, before they even realised that he'd moved, he was barrelling through the now falling and screaming spectators recording the fight on their phones and charging right at and up wall. "I am strong as a mountain! I am-"

"You already said that!" Felix snapped, shooting his way as his robotic arms sprang forth, aiming for his ankles. Unfortunately, the Sumo Ninja had no issue avoiding the hands. Rather than get snagged, he simply jumped onto and ran straight up the metal arms, already reaching out for the boy.

Only for Felix to send the chair into a sharp spin, ending upside down as he had the robotic arms flail, sending the stunned Ninja plummeting back toward the ground. Felix growled as his target pulled his decent into an aerial flip and landed on his feet in the end, but that didn't stop him from smirking as a blonde mop of hair broke through the crowd.

"Didn't I clobber you bad enough the last time we met?" Ron called, leaping in with a flying kick. Sadly, it never landed, for the moment Ron's voice met his ears, the oversized assassin had the ground rumbling as he flopped down onto it, leaving Ron soaring right over him. And right at the panicked stampede trying to flee.

"OH CRAP!" His eyes going wide and screaming his lungs out, Ron broke his kicking form and flailed, only causing the crowd to scream more as he fell their way. It was only at the last minute that he remembered what he was capable of, closed his eyes and focused on his powers. The blue glow encased him just seconds before he crashed into a child, leaving him sighing in relief as his ability to levitate kicked in and pulled him to an immediate halt. However, that second was all he got, for before the breath even finished leaving his mouth, the masses behind him crashed into him, eliciting a new bout of screams as he was sent rolling in the air away from the fight. "AHHH, HEY WAIT! KP HELP, I'VE BEEN ABDUCTED BY THE MOB!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Monique muttered dryly, far from impressed.

"Oh, come on, Ron!" Felix cried, circling the area. Redeploying his robotic arms, he tried to pluck the flailing blonde from the masses. However, the crowd's panic had them moving far too erratically, tossing and jerking the young hero so wildly that his next movement was impossible to predict and leaving him quickly turning green. "Will you stay still?"

"You think I don't wanna?" Ron cried, raising an arm to his friend only to whip it back to his mouth a second later, a loud gulp echoing over the screaming. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Felix, LOOK OUT!" It only got worse from there, something the brunette was quick to discover as he snapped his head around and paled in terror as he found the Sumo Ninja airborne and coming right at him.

"Oh crap!"

"And then there was one!" The look in the masked man's eyes was one of glee and malice as he raised a dagger and thrust it right at Felix' chair. Or more accurately, right for its engine. If he succeeded in doing any damage, especially from this height...

Thankfully, before the blade could land, a flash of red shot up from behind the behemoth. Felix barely even recognised it as Kim's hair before the girl had snagged the ninja's arm and flung it away before using the momentum flip up again and into Felix's lap, smacking the joystick and sending his chair shooting up, safely out of the ninja's reach.

"Kim! What will Ron think when he sees this?" Felix teased, though the smile on his face far too thankful to match the joke.

"Oh man, there goes my pants again!"

"I think he'll have bigger priorities." Kim deadpanned, jerking her thumb toward the aforementioned article of clothing riding a separate human wave before turning her attention back to the Sumo ninja landing with a flip.

"So, it's safe to say that he's not going to be of any help today." Felix sighed before taking the controls back and bringing them back down low. 'So how about you, are you...better now?" He asked, more hesitantly than Kim had ever heard him before. Honestly, that was jarring, but Kim couldn't let that affected her. Not again.

'Yeah. I got this." Only waiting to give him the most confident smirk she could muster, Kim leaped back to the ground charged straight in with reckless abandon. It was only years of experience that allowed Sumo Ninja's reflexes to block and deflect the series of rapid chops, slaps and fists suddenly coming his way.

"So now you wish to play! Ha, you were a more appealing statue than adversary." Sumo ninja laughed as he leapt back, kicking at Kim with both feet as he turned it into a back flip. Swinging her upper body back, Kim easily dodged before using the momentum to launch a kick of her own, easily catching her overweight opponent in the gut as he righted himself and leaving him gasping painfully for air as he stumbled back, barely avoiding the following left hook. Growling under his breath as Kim followed after him, his hand whipped up his dagger again, fully intending to aim for her heart, however, before he could even thrust it, it was suddenly ripped upward and right out of his hand, his bag of loot following it not even a second later.

"For me? You're too kind." Felix smirked as the ninja looked up, laughing as he flew overhead and away with every piece of metal the ninja had suddenly sticking to the bottom of his chair.

It wasn't the only surprise either, for even as his reflexes flared and allowed him to avoid Kim's series of kicks, he failed to notice another pair of ropes coming from behind him and each wrapping around an arm before pulling them back. He'd made the mistake or not only forgetting his first opponent, but turning his back to her while fighting Kim! Eyes wide in horror, he could only catch a glimpse of a smirking Monique before turning back to find Kim's fist landing right into his face, followed immediately by an even stronger punch slamming into his solar plexus.

"A..urghhhhh..." Stepping back, Kim barely had two seconds to get out of the way before Sumo Ninja crashed face first into the ground and failed to rise again. He was out cold.

"And that's a wrap. Or it will be when Monique's done with him." Felix cheered, taking just enough time to turn off his chair's electro magnet and safely drop the loot within the jewellery store before doing a victory lap above the masses. "You can all settle down now everyone. Kim Possible claims another victory! All hail our favourite heroine! Hurray, hurray, we're all safe! Now could you be so kind as to put Ron down and give him back his pants?"

"Oh look, now the rent-a-cops show up." Monique drawled, sending them a very chastising glare as she used her broken ropes to tie the Sumo ninja's arms behind his back. "Just when the crook's tied up and the crowd's back to pulling out their phones. How convenient."

Kim however, wasn't paying attention, opting to glare down at the defeated ninja instead, mentally chastising herself. She couldn't believe just how badly she'd choked! This guy was no big, figuratively at least. They'd beaten him twice before, easily, and yet she'd shut down at the mere thought of fighting him. She'd never felt so locked in place before, so consumed in fear, and she'd never once let her fear stop her from fighting. Yes, her fear had been making itself more known a lot more lately. It made her reach out and expand her team. It left her jittery if Ron was gone from her side too long on a mission. But it had never caused more than a little hesitation before. The literal only time fear had paralysed her was when the giant cockroaches were running rampart!

Yet she had stood there, watching as her friends dived into a deadly situation while she struggled just to overcome hyperventilation! Instead of helping them when they struggled, she only grew stiffer. They could have died and all she'd done was watch.

It was only when Ron's voice broke through the fog in her mind, when he dived into her sight, when she became aware of his presence, that she managed to snap out of it and that left her relieved, confused and incredibly angry with herself. While she did always rely on it, she'd never needed to depend on Ron's reassuring presence to fight before. Why did she need it so badly now? Seeing the guy stealing and attacking people, seeing her friends in danger, it all should have set her into action, yet every twist before her powerhouse boyfriend appeared only further shut her down.

"Kim Possible! May we get a word?"

"Why did you stand back for most of the fight?"

"Who are your friends here? Are you training them?"

"Did you hold off as some kind of lesson?"

"Can we get an interview for our blog? We're your biggest fans, Kim Possible!"

"Wow, a lot people speak English here." Felix mused, backing away from the crowd as more than one locked on to him.

More and more people started calling out to her, training their camera phones on her and the villain at her feet. The mall cops were trying to get her attention too, though Monique had quickly taken over dealing with them in order to give them a piece of her mind. Kim just ignored it all, only taking enough note to sink into Ron's arms as her worried boyfriend hugged her from behind. She didn't care about whatever image she was giving right now, didn't care about debriefing authority figures. She only cared about what happened to her and why. She had to figure out why this fear took over and how to get it under control. If she didn't...well, she didn't want to think about what could happen next time.

...

If one were to describe the feeling in the air, only one word would have come to any mind present: suspicious. Grunts, muttering and short screeches of chairs shifting on the metal floor echoed throughout the rock-walled room, the indiscernible noises a far cry from the near perfect silence that had hung over the place not an hour before.

To be honest, Spectra wasn't sure which atmosphere she preferred. It was true that she needed people to feed off, so being alone for so long had made her twitchy, but these people were loud and arrogant, all of them thinking far too highly of themselves and sneering at her. Or at Drakken, whatever. Either way, the looks of contempt and blatantly disrespectful comments being sent her way or spoken loudly enough for all to hear were grating on her last nerve. She couldn't even feed on them and put them in their place because that would risk exposure. These fools were too loose lipped and whiney and even if they weren't, they were needed at their best for the plan to work.

To add to the problem, the most scathing critics also happened to be the ones she'd already determined to be the most likely to bail on them. According to her background checks, Dr Dementor had always thought little of Drakken and the two had an aggressive relationship, even back when Drakken was in the prime of his, albeit unsuccessful, villainous career. Meanwhile, the dark organisation leader, Gemini, basically deemed himself a God among men, sneering down his nose at everyone around him as if they were no more than stains on his boots. Not even the Scottish golfer was heard over them when they spoke, demanding attention and throwing insults. They alone were more than enough to leave Spectra struggling to prevent her red eyes from glowing, to say nothing of her urge to fly over and choke the life out of them.

In fact, she probably would have done exactly that if it weren't for the final guest literally flying into the room on the back of an oversized condor at that very moment. Happy that she could finally get this over with and keen to stop this latest loudmouth from monologuing about his greatness like the last ten villains to enter her personal hell, Spectra took her place before the large, metal table and slammed one of Drakken's tiny fists onto it, infusing it with her own strength so the resulting bang was heard over and drew the attention of the crowd.

"Welcome everyone. Now that the last of us have arrived, let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Yes, let's." Dementor exclaimed, leaning back with a bored look on his face. He didn't even bother looking at her, deeming his finger nails much more interesting. "How about we start with why we should work with you? Last I checked, you were an absolute failure, and that was before you gave up the life of evil for the title of world saving, Daisy Boy."

"No wonder, look at these machines!" A woman with hair seemingly made thick power cables shouted, sweeping her arm around the lair. Electonique, a powerful, technological prodigy with electrical powers and a very short fuse, Spectra reminded herself. "They are ridiculous at best! The ideas of a child and the sloppy workmanship of a baboon."

"I'd say you just defined our host with perfection." Gemini commented. "Coming here was a waste of time. What could this simpleton possibly offer any of us, much less me?"

"A plan to put an end to all of those who have ever defeated us before they become unstoppable!" Spectra snapped, smacking the table again. She took only two seconds to enjoy the stunned looks the rattling metal caused her audience before moving on. "Do not act so high and mighty! You have been bested time and again by the same few groups of people. Team Go! Global Justice! And, the one with ties to both, Kim Possible! Remember, your track records with each of them are no better than mine."

Needless to say, none of them were too thrilled with that little reminder. Duff Killiganled a few lesser growls and grumbled complaints, but most ended at that. Even Dementor merely stewed and glared in his seat, his only attempt to complain being drowned out by Electroneque's furious scream. Gemini, on the other hand, looked absolutely thunderous, throwing himself from his seat and readying a tirade, but Spectra paid it no mind, cutting him and all of their further complaints off.

"It's only going to get worse from here on out! Even as we speak, Kim Possible is making a number of new allies, including a member of the Fenton family and the team from Japan called the Z Fighters. Now, I'm sure some of you have heard of _them_."

"No, I have not!" A redhead in tights and math equations exclaimed, a few of the others nodding along with him. "The Fenton family I get, but what's important about some Z Fighters? If they were all that impressive, then I can assure you that-"

"SHUT UP YOU FOOL!" The whole room went silent as Gemini shouted, turning everyone's attention his way. What they saw left all of them near horrified, much to Spectra's pleasure. Gone was the looks of contempt and superiority. A fierce glare still emblazoned his face, but his skin had gone pale and the fear in his eyes was evident to all who looked upon him. The difference was so sudden that even the most aloof and oblivious villains felt the deep sense of unease crawl up their spines.

He wasn't the only one having such a reaction either. Dementor looked about ready to faint, while Electroneque's whole body looked like it was short circuiting, sparks flying everywhere. Even the recently de-stoned Monkey Fist shivered at the mere thought.

"There is no force physically more powerful than the Z Fighters." Gemini went on, stomping his way right into the redhead's face. "Super strength, super speed, flight and energy manipulation make up only the general powers found amongst them. They are a group of beings that's status is lesser known solely because idiots like you refuse to believe such forces exist and blame the damage resulting in their battles on natural disasters. When they come, you run, that's all there is too it."

"Precisely." Spectra agreed, taking back the spotlight as the pure horror of this new possibility entailed dawned on each of her new associates. "Now imagine what could happen if Kim Possible successfully connects them to her network. Collaborations between the resources of Global Justice and those of the Z Fighters, who already have connections with Capsule Corp. Access to high demand ectoplasmic technology, which can have many uses and tricks beyond those of current spy tech. More brilliant minds interacting and determining both your plans and discovering their flaws. The doors opened to them through mixing technologies and powers! We would never be able to compete.

"That is why I have called you all here. It doesn't matter how you feel about me or my recent time off. What matters is that I am here now, warning you and suggesting a plan of response before it is too late to stop them. A plan that would require all of us and everything we've got. Yes, we will have to work together! Rest assured that my stomach is just as queasy just at the simple thought as yours. But, if we do not, we will miss our chance and then none of us would ever have any chance at conquering the world, or whatever else your goals may be, again! The choice is yours, but I suggest you think this over carefully."

Deeming her point made, Spectra simply stared down each and every one of the assembled villains and took a seat, letting her declaration sink in and gauging their responses. Duff and Monkey Fist were the easiest to read, of course. Both had well defined history with Drakken and were already looking set on the plan. Dementor looked physically pained at the thought of a team up and terrified of the possible future at the same time, but she was sure he would join the fold. Good, his tech was critical to the plan

Most of Team Go's gathered enemies seemed unsure where to stand. That was expected too, if not a little annoying. Simply put, despite their claims or surprising talents, most weren't very bright. Electronique was the only exception and the disguised ghost was pretty sure she would agree.

A few others, the young, self absorbed villains, completely failed to grasp the big picture, but Spectra was sure she could persuade them to help. Even if she couldn't it wouldn't matter too much. Though Camille's power could be useful, they were only really invited for the extra tricks and numbers, not for actual necessity. Either way, the plan would work.

Gemini looked like he'd just sucked on a lemon. Clearly the idea of working equally with people he declared so far beneath him still made him sick to his stomach, but the severity of the situation was registering to him. He'd stick around at least long enough to hear her out and that's all she needed. Once he heard the plan, she was now as confident as Plasmius that he'd do his part. The desperation to avoid this possible future and his own hatred for Global Justice ensured it.

In fact, he was even the first to speak.

"Inform us of your plan, buffoon. If what you say is true, then we have no time to waste."

Hidden behind the scowling blue mask that was Dr Drakken's face, Spectra bore a near demonic smile. She had him. She had everyone she needed. She was sure of it.

...

"Well, this is turning out better than I planned." A huge, gleeful smile covered Vlad's face from ear to ear as he rose to his feet and stretched the kinks out off his back, his eyes never leaving the monitors before him. A couple of them were delivering a feed from Drakken's lair, giving Vlad a perfect view as Spectra expertly manipulated almost all of Kim Possible's enemies, and that was going without a hitch so far, but it was the hacked security cameras from the mall brawl that had given Vlad a few unexpected, but delightful results.

The overall objective seemed to be a complete success. The new Team Possible did find it odd that the assassin for hire was stealing jewels in broad daylight, and admittedly Vlad could have planned a more believable ploy, but they seemed to be righting it off as desperation. Furthermore, even as Wade was being informed of the situation via Kim's communication device, the young prodigy only responded by looking over the Sumo Ninja's records and followed it up with a general sweep of crimes that might fall into their known villains' MOs, he didn't dig deep into anyone else's location. With a little luck, that should suffice for now. He should probably set off another, more believable problem for Kim to resolve soon, but for now, his pawns' actions were still going unnoticed and should stay that way. That was all Vlad had expected to get out of this and as he watched one of his ghost vultures sneak out of the overweight villain as unnoticed as his return to Earth, he would have been perfectly satisfied. However, this fight had started with a very unexpected twist.

Kim had frozen. The girl was terrified and had left almost the entire fight to her new, undertrained teammates. That could make their job so much easier. Ron stoppable had snapped her back to reality, but that could be worked around. He just needed a few more details to determine the why and how. Then he could exploit it and make Kim's defeat all the more assured.

"But still, one step at a time." Vlad declared, taking a deep breath forcing himself to calm down. It would not due to impulsively jump ahead. That's how mistakes occur and unravel his plans. No, he'd continue observing this new development of course, but for now he would focus on and finalise the next phase of his plan.

"After all," He reminded himself as he walked over to his whistling teapot, pouring himself another cup. "Kim possible is really just the figurehead. There are plenty of more important targets before my minions take her down and all of them deserve proper attention."

Like he said, he had no intention of underestimating his enemies this time. And he had gotten a lot better at controlling his impulsive behaviour. Kim's time would come, but this would not speed it up. It was just a useful tidbit that Spectra would absolutely adore when it was time to kill the heroine.

Which wouldn't be long now. Everything was falling into place. The operation would soon begin.

* * *

**AN:** Hey all, hope you enjoyed Felix and Monique's first fight. I wanted to show them off a bit before it hits the fan. Oh, and bar one more small scene, that's the last of the recycled material, in case older readers were interested. Well, that's all for now. Later.


	7. Chapter 7

**Facing Henry's Past Ties **

Honestly, Kim was about ready to kick her own rear. The rest of her shopping trip had, naturally, ended up rather less stellar than the start. A series of reports to the police and appeasing her fans' inquiries had taken a while this time. While Kim was generally used to it and would normally be happy for the chance to better introduce her new teammates, the recounting and questions' answers only drove Kim further down her own little well of guilt and self loathing. When they finally were left to their own devices, all Kim could do was follow along and drown her sorrows with soda at the food court, apologising repeatedly to her friends the whole time. They forgave her of course, immediately even. They were far more concerned about her than anything else and spent a great deal of time trying to reassure her, but it was pretty clear that nothing was working. The simple fact was that even Kim couldn't figure out why she had such a negative reaction to facing danger. All that her mind was giving her was that Ron wasn't there, which should not have been a problem.

And because it was, Monique had almost died. She would have if Felix arrived even a second later. Kim was right there and did nothing to stop a foe she could easily defeat from almost killing her best friend. How could she let that happen?

Still, her friends were persistent. If reassurance wasn't going to work then instead of letting her go back to her room and dump on herself, they'd silently agreed that distraction and a sense of normalcy was the best route right then and dragged her from the table, back through the mall. Which, much to Kim's chagrin and slight amusement, despite her mood, quickly resulted in a round at the arcade. All Felix had to do to get Monique on board was casually mention a damn wrestling game and it was once again time for the war of Pain King and Steel Toe. Only for them to leave the mall a couple hours later fully intending to continue the eternal fray on Ron's new game straight after dinner. When Ron and Monique got into that feud, it tended to last days and that was before you added Felix's playful teasing and goading. Kim wasn't about to complain though. Monique and Felix deserved the entertainment after today and it made Kim's buzz killing mood slip from their minds as they got a bit too into it. She was actually glad they at least had managed to settle down.

Wade was a little trickier to sidetrack from her mental wellbeing, but he did figure out pretty quickly that words weren't doing much for her and mental issues were too far outside his field to help much. He did scan through his monitoring systems, ensuring there wasn't any other trouble worth worrying about though. He figured that it would help to know that she had time to recover and collect herself. She just smiled as best she could at that before encouraging him back into the lab, where Bulma and Jazz were geeking out over some secret project their little squad was cooking up. Needless to say, it wasn't hard to get him back through that door.

She loved her friends and appreciated all the care and concern they were showing her, but they couldn't help with this. This was all set off by her fear and inability to control it. To fix this, she had to find out why she was so afraid and she had to learn to overcome the emotion. Otherwise, there was no telling when her fear could cripple her again.

So, naturally, this would have been the perfect time to address the elephant in the room. The timing couldn't be better, the only other person who seemed to be free was her intended target. It'd be all too easy to sit Henry down for a one on one conversation. She even knew exactly where he'd gone. However, Kim simply couldn't figure out how to put one foot into the same room as him.

"Open the door and talk to him, Kim! You've been too much of a coward today already!" She scowled, practically slamming her back against the wall, her eyes staring down the door before her. It was frustrating beyond belief. Henry was right there, on the other side one moving piece of wood, with all the answers she could ask for on Ryo and his team, yet here she was, failing to do so much as grab the handle. She just couldn't help it. For the second time today, there was simply too much anxiety and wariness running through her veins.

The negative feelings, the sense of danger that Henry stirred within her, were getting far too out of control. Sure, she'd managed to ignore and suppress them the day before, but that was before her memories started returning and she'd lost her nerve with a low level villain. Now there was so much running through her mind, so many memories returning and all of them showing her powers and dangers that she could have never imagined. That alone unnerved her so much and it amplified her concerns over Henry.

He was one of them, a super powered human, and very intelligent. The nature of his power, as little as Kim knew about it from his very small file, was devastatingly dangerous in place like Capsule Corp. The entire town sized building was overflowing with technology, both small and seemingly mundane to huge and explosive. With a single thought, the Chinese warrior could end them all in an instant. And Kim was about to face him all alone. Combine all of that with the feeling of a serious threat she got from him the moment she saw him and the continued lack of knowledge as to why she'd developed that fear and tenseness and you had one seriously frightening situation.

To make it worse, every time she forced herself forward and touched the handle, she did regain a memory on him. Just a second long one. A flicker of purple, blood thirsty eyes. A barrage of laser fire decimating the area all around her. Him surging through the air at her, blades of green energy poised to cut her in half. Him successfully cutting Ben 10's head off with malicious glee, no remorse whatsoever to be seen. It was only because of the regenerative nature of Swampfire's species that he was still alive. The image sent terrified shivers down her spine.

Her Vcom's data base told her that she was trying to talk to a hero. Monique deemed him boyfriend material. But Kim's feelings and memories depicted only the most malicious of killers and unlike last time, she was intending to face him alone.

That thought alone sent another round of ice through her veins. Almost enough to have her dragging Ron down with her. Backup would make her feel better, no doubt about it, especially if it was in the form of her mystically powerful boyfriend.

But that's exactly why she couldn't bring him. It would defy her newest point for doing this now. Earlier today, she failed to do anything until Ron made his presence known. She couldn't do that again or someone would die! She still had no clue why the fear was so strong, but she couldn't let experiencing it stop her ever again. She had to fight through it and do this alone. Besides, it's not like help was far away if she actually needed it. That was why this was the best method to relearn facing this fear. Not that that thought was calming her rapidly beating heart at all...

"Kim, get a grip and get this show on the road!" Giving herself a slap as she growled, Kim took one more deep breath before forcing herself forward. She didn't need Ron for this. She was Kim Possible. She could...handle anything. And this was nothing. She was just going to sit down and demand...ask for answers to her earliest fears from a dangerous technopath in super tech central.

"Kim, stop thinking about it and just...DO IT!" Her voice rising to a shout as her hand met the handle once more, Kim forced it to turn, forced the surfacing memory of livid purple eyes staring down coldly at her fallen, shaking form out from her mind and flung the door wide open...

Only to openly stare at the area she'd entered. It was extremely different to anything she'd expected to see. She'd imagined it'd be another lab, instead it looked like a miniature forest field. The trickling of a small fountain danced soothingly in her ears from a pond off to the centre of the room, accompanied every few moments by soft tweeting from to tops of trees scattered around the place. There was no floor, merely grass and the occasional flower bed, all well trimmed and healthy. A few small cats ruffled the bushes every now and then, sparing her a moment of curiosity before disregarding her entirely in favour of chasing each other or climbing the trees. The whole room was covered by a skylight, allowing everything to be bathed beautifully under the light of the rising full moon, the scene only being made even more enchantingly soothing by the few solar lamps here and there, the only manmade sources of light to be found. Not once had she ever seen such a beautiful, natural looking place within a lab or mechanics company before. It reminded her of Central Park, surrounded by New York City, a natural paradise hidden within the labyrinth of concrete and metal.

She couldn't enjoy it for too long though, for it only took a second to find her target. Donned in a simple brown and black sleeveless Gi, Henry was standing in the clearing near the pond. His stance clearly indicated he'd been performing some kind of kata, though exactly which type was lost to Kim. His stance suggested fluid movement and his arm was raised in way that suggested a slash, though twisted, one that would come with spin motion similar to a wave. Still, she couldn't confirm it, for he'd ceased moving. Instead, he'd turned his head at her, his grey eyes wide in surprise. Grey, not purple and definitely not malicious. A very dramatic contrast to the images her mind was plaguing her with.

"Uuh, hi Kim. Is something wrong?" He asked, dropping his stance and blinking confusedly as Kim stood there, staring far too intensely at his eyes. "Is something on my face?" He added awkwardly, subconsciously rubbing his cheek.

"What? Ah, no, sorry." _Way-da embarrass yourself, Kimberly!_ Blushing, Kim offered him a small, sheepish grin as she forced herself to close the door behind her, much more gently than she'd opened it and take a few steps forward. Well, he hadn't tried to snap her neck yet, and she hadn't locked up either, so far so good. If you ignored how much of a fool she'd made herself out to be with that entrance. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything. What kind of kata was that?"

"It's Tai Chi." Henry replied, leaving Kim internally sighing in relief as he accepted the change of subject. "It's a basic one I learned when I was first starting out. It's a simple one to perform and good for a relaxing exercise."

"Oh, I see. So that's your martial arts style? Most people I know who practice Tai Chi just use the fitness and meditation side of it."

"You remember that I'm a martial artist or are you assuming from my clothes?" Henry asked, offering her a small smile as he took a seat on the ground.

"Both." Kim answered, slowly stepping closer, taking in another deep breath as subtly as she could and mentally berating herself for even needing it. Henry had done nothing even slightly hostile, heck, the way he had sat down on his knees limited his ability to attack, yet she kept waiting for him to lunge, for his peaceful, warm expression to turn vicious, for purple...

"Uhh Kim, are you sure you're ok?" Henry asked worriedly, breaking her thoughts. "The way you're staring at me...I've never seen anyone so unnerved focus so hard on my eyes before."

"Y-yeah. Sorry." Kim sighed, blinking a few times and trying to make her expression less intense and more apologetic. "I know I'm being weird, but...your grey irises don't seem right to me."

"What?" Henry gaped, blinking a few times as he seemed to try and process that. He looked like he wasn't sure whether to be concerned or offended. "What's wrong with my eyes?"

"My memory says that they're purple." Kim responded, sucking in a sharp breath as Henry tensed. Not liking the abrupt change, Kim quickly pushed on, all the while subtly shifting for a quick exit if she needed it. "It's part of what I hoping to talk to you about. According to Bulma and my Vcom data, you're a hero, but when I first saw you, my mind screamed threat. I couldn't understand why. Then, when my memories started coming back, you and all the other Matrix Tamers were still completely absent from them. And since they finally did start surfacing, I've been seeing split second flashes of you with purple eyes trying very hard to kill me and successfully decapitating Swampfire Ben without a hint of remorse. I need answers and you're the only one who can provide them. Will you tell me?"

"I see. That definitely would be panic inducing." Henry sighed sadly, his body sinking sluggishly as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms loosely around himself as he shook. "I suppose that means that you don't remember the fight against Garlic Jr at all?"

"Garlic..." Kim started, completely clueless, before blood started pulsing at her temple, an image of an ugly, bluish grey dwarf flashing through her mind. "Urgh, he was an alien, right?" She grunted, clasping her head.

"That's right." Henry nodded with a sigh, opening his eyes and stunning Kim with their morbid, grey depths. "He was one of the Z Fighters' old enemies looking for revenge. He had unholy mystic water called the black water mist, which he used to control me and my friends. The Z Fighters too, by the time you got involved. It made us as aggressive and bloodthirsty as we could get. He had us kill Goku and give him our DNA for one of his formulas so he could add our powers to his arsenal. We had no control over ourselves, we were little more than his hyper violent, temperamental attack dogs.

"We were also meant to capture anyone else with super powers we could find and a number of your team came after Gohan when he came at us in a murderous rage." Henry went on, forcing himself to look Kim in the eyes. Kim almost hugged him right then and there, previous fears be damned at the sadness she saw, how sorry he looked, the silent desperation that she believe him. "You were with them. But you had no powers. Ben's were technological. Neither of you were worth anything to Garlic Jr. So...I was free to kill you two. And I revelled in the fact, the attempt. Just like when I helped kill Gohan's father."

"Oh God!" Ice surged Kim's veins once more, but for completely different reason. She couldn't even hope to imagine how painful it must be for Henry and his friends, to remember all of it, to feel the aggression, the pleasure while attempting and, worse, successfully killing perfectly good people. Kim remembered what it was like to be controlled by Drakken's mind control chips. She was aware of everything the whole time too, remembered every moment that she attacked Ron and hated every second of it. The fear, frustration and regret of helplessly watching her body hurting her friend was enough to bring tears to her eyes, but she never did anything long lasting or remained enslaved very long at all. That was absolutely nothing compared to what the Matrix Tamers must have gone through. To do such horrible things under someone else's influence, to enjoy it at the time and remember every bit of it later...

"These memories aren't new to you." It wasn't a question. The young man before her was filled with sadness and regret, but it wasn't raw. He'd been living with it for a good while. He's remembered this fight. A fact that was confirmed as he nodded his head.

"I was involved with this situation long before the Guardians got involved." He muttered, taking a moment to rub his eyes. "I was only involved with your team so much. The Z Fighters and the Matrix Tamers remember basically all of it. Ryo and Gohan have been friends ever since. Ryo brought Gohan to hang out with us a few times since memories started getting tweaked. He's a friend to all of us, despite what we did to his Dad. Mostly, the alterations to those memories is that the other Guardians we fought, like you, were shadowed out in our minds. It was like we were fighting silhouettes and just didn't think about it. At most, I just wrote it off as the original Z Fighters, until Bulma made her revelation and my opponents' faces appeared."

"So...then I realise that it's a hard time and you can skip details if you want to, but can you tell more about that mission?" Kim asked, albeit hesitantly. Henry looked like he'd aged ten years while they'd been talking. Old knowledge for him or not, he was still dealing with his part in it, still hurting. She didn't want to risk further opening old wounds, but she so desperately wanted to know what her memory was still hiding from her. "I want to remember everything. Particularly Ryo. I can remember every other Guardian to some degree now, but I can't remember a thing about him. I want to know why."

"...Probably because he wasn't a Guardian for very long." Henry informed her, giving her a small nod. "The Garlic Jr incident happened not long before Maleficent attacked. You only knew him for a few weeks and he has a terrible habit of dropping off the map, even with us."

With that, Henry told her the tale as best he could, starting from when he and his friends were approached and demanded to provide their DNA for some radical company only to be tranquilized and infected with the Black Water Mist. He told her about tracking down and infecting the Z Fighters, capturing Gohan and glanced over the murder of Goku before quickly moving on to their battle at the castle.

"Basically all I can tell you after that was that your teammates fought Garlic and his other forces and beat them all before sealing Garlic Jr back into whatever the Dead Zone is. Since I was out cold, I don't know anymore beyond our fight except that you weren't part of the end. You were near dead. My deepest apologies for the actions of my friends and I. Trust me, we deeply regret all of it." He finished with a bow.

"It's fine. There was no way for you to resist the Mist." Kim smiled, albeit painfully, slowly shaking her head. Just as before, throughout the story, memories from her side of the conflict quickly resurfaced one after the other. She remembered Roxas almost dying and almost becoming a vegetable. She remembered Gohan's grief turning to rage and unleashing power worthy of a God of War when news of his father's demise reached him. And she clearly remembered both her fight with Videl and the Matrix Tamers, particularly Sakuya. The shaman had almost ended her life horribly multiple times and she still couldn't figure out how she'd survived a direct strike of Gallant's lightning bolt, let alone got up again to fight. It was a huge amount of anxiety to take back in even before she reached the end where she'd actually died and was only revived because Ben managed to shock her himself. That part...well, let's say that a good few minutes of hyperventilating happened before Henry managed to calm her breathing back down. The fact that that had happened...well, she always knew that it was a technical possibility, that she was less than invincible, but to have actually been legally dead almost long enough for all brain activity to end... _Oh my God! _

Needless to say, she needed a distraction. any distraction. She'd succeeded in everything she'd come here to do. She'd gained the information she'd wanted, she'd fought through her sense of fear. She'd done enough for now, she wanted get away from it all for a while. She needed to.

Fortunately Henry was there to provide just the one she wanted most. Besides what only Ron could provide.

"Can you tell me about him? Ryo?" Kim asked, her desperation shining through her shaking voice. Not that she cared how freaked out she looked right now, she had every right to be. Henry seemed to agree, he'd gently wrapped his arms around her and held her face to face when she first started her panic attack and was still there, slowly drawing comforting circles into her back. "I want to remember him properly. I want to know more about him then I did before. I want..."

"Ryo can at times seem a little bit like a split personality case." Henry said softly, keeping his voice low and gentle as a little amusement sunk into it. "He can at time seem very calm and serious. Everything he says and does is cautionary, reassuring, almost parental in many ways. When he's like that, it really does feel like I have my big brother caring for me, making me feel safe. Though at times, it's taken to this extreme where he looks so sad and haunted. His emotions are so strongly projected.

"That's usually when Rika starts teasing and calling him out, which is usually immediately responded to with his far more mischievous side." Henry let a small chuckle escape his mouth at that, bringing a small grin to Kim's as well. It was vague in her mind, but she was starting to recall what Henry was suggesting. "That side is light hearted and a smart ass. His wit knows no bounds and he's quick to joke and tease, particularly at Rika. He's energetic, fun loving and overly confident. He'll rile up Rika for the fun of it, which most people call crazy or terrifying. Of all our friends, Ryo and I are the only ones not afraid of Rika's temper. Well, Jeri isn't either, so long as it isn't directed at her. But yeah, Ryo's absolutely fearless, for himself at least. He only seems afraid when one of his friends are in trouble. No matter how dangerous things get, heck, he could face Satan himself and he'd still be joking around and diving into it with enthusiasm until five minutes after he's dead."

"Is there anything else he's into?" Kim asked, finally pulling away a little, getting an encouraging smile from Henry in return. "Besides combat and daring Rika's wrath?"

"Well, we're all fans of Digimon." Henry offered with a small laugh. "In fact, Ryo's known in some circles back home as the Digimon King for ruling in major card tournament. Even his codename, Justiman, comes partly from the rumours that surrounded him when our team first formed, the mysterious man of justice in the shadows, and partly after his favourite card, Justi_mon_."

"Oh wow, you've gotta be kidding!" Her laughter met her ears before she even realised she'd done it. The sheer ridiculousness of naming yourself after a character in a kids' card game...it was too much not to laugh.

"His suit's based on the Digimon too." Henry snickered, bringing another round from Kim. "He looked that much like him already that when I gave his suit some enhancements, like his metal arm, I based the design of the Digimon. He figured it out right away and thought it was hilarious before declaring that he'd wear it with pride."

"What a geek! The great Justiman would fit in perfectly at a cosplay convention." Kim had officially lost it, holding her belly as she laughed long and loud, Henry joining in right beside her. "Ron and Felix would love him! I...I don't suppose you could get him here?"

"Well...I don't know." Henry replied, snickering a little more as he shook his head. "Ryo moves around a lot, he's hard to pin down. Usually he just randomly shows up on his own. I'll give it a shot, but you might have to wait a little while. I will introduce you at the first opportunity though."

"Thanks." Kim nodded, the mirth in her smile calming to gratitude as she took a few, much needed, deep breaths. "For everything. I'm sorry I forced you to relive so much. If I knew how bad that was..."

"It's fine. I'm dealing with it." Henry shrugged, shaking his head. "Besides, I rather deal with it than leave you scared I might butcher you in your sleep. If we're going to be allies, then we have to be able to trust each other at the very least."

"Friends is better though." Kim responded, smiling as she pulled him to his feet, getting a grin and a nod in return. "So, while I'm asking favours, would it be too daring to ask for one more and have you show me that kata you were doing? If you want, I have plenty from three styles of kung fu to trade with."

"Well then, we better get started." Henry grinned. He was already shifting his body to the first stance before he'd even finished talking.

By the time they were done, Kim was just as physically exhausted as she was mentally and barely made it to her bed before crashing. It had been a long day to say the least and she still had a lot to work through.

Still, she'd gotten all the answers she'd wanted, even if they came with knowledge she really could have done without. She even managed to force herself to break through her fear, though she still had no idea where it came from. She'd deal with all of it though. Just not right now.

Fortunately for her, none of her darker discoveries and experiences touched her dreams. Strangely, and humorously enough, they were mostly depicting Ryo Akiyama cosplaying at a geek convention as Sailor Moon.

...

He wasn't kidding when he said that it might take a few days. Tracking Ryo was never an easy task, even for his fellow Matrix Tamers. The guy was almost always moving around and seldom had a phone at all, much less remembering to turn it on or distribute his newest number. He was quite elusive, had been since long before their team formed. Henry didn't really know the details why, but anyone could tell that they guy was avoiding someone or something. Exactly what was something Ryo kept to himself, despite their prying. Rika frequently snarked about it every time it was brought up, accusing him of just loving his air of mystery too much, to which he always had a smug response. Though all of them had eventually noticed the sombre eyes behind the amusement. Still, since he wouldn't let them in, what more could they do than wait until he was ready to tell them?

So, while he waited for his tracking programs to hit their mark, Henry had turned his attention back to his projects. Particularly, working on the Fenton Ecto-suit data.

Bulma and Wade had a number of their own projects to observe in addition to their collaboration, so it was him and Jazz working on it the most, but he was pleased to say that they'd made a lot of progress. Almost all of it was translated and summarized into a state that was understandable to everyone involved in the project now and they were already set to tweak it.

The process was only sped up further as Kim's current battle suit proved to be the perfect template for what they intended to make together. A quick stroll through Wade's files had provided all of its data and they were pleased to find that very little general alterations were needed to make it compatible with both the Ecto-suit design and Henry's bio-energy tech. Grinning a little to himself, he plugged a USB into his computer and immediately watched as he willed the information on Kim's battle suit onscreen.

"At the rate this is going, we could have next generation battle suits completed in record time." Bulma beamed as she scanned over the data, double checking everything for any glitches or errors and only growing more excited as she found none.

"Let's not get too carried away." Wade replied, a sheepish grin crossing his face. "Kim's suit is technically a prototype and it had bugs. The invisibility system once left me unable to find it for hours and that was just the most visibly problematic glitch."

"Oh, don't worry. We're going to be constantly testing this thing every step of the way. Besides, Henry's already pulled up your logs and is making the necessary tweaks to your data." Bulma waved it off, her smile only growing more proud as Henry blushed at the praise.

"It's not that big of a deal." He muttered as the others turned to the other screens he'd set up off to the side. "Wade's reports are highly detailed and they're not dramatic changes. Most of the suits' dramas seemed to be associated to the inhibition or strain caused by the power output on its systems. Considering the merging tech we're supplying and the new power sources, the suit's systems should be a lot more sustainable, so the base design doesn't need many complex modifications."

"Which only supports my statement! Now come on lady and gentlemen, let's get this merger underway!" And with that, the four of them dived right into it with enthusiastic smiles. Bulma's mood really was infectious.

It didn't take them long at all to get the gist of all the modifications needed on each source of tech and get to work, starting for a suit specifically designed for Kim. Wade had already informed the group what basic changes he'd hoped to make, he'd made plenty of notes over possible changes and upgrades and all of them seemed easy enough now that they had all the data. What made Kim's suit such a good starting point was the that the base work for integrating both Henry and Jazz's technology was already in place, its design being easily adaptable and already possessing similar, less advanced versions of the others' systems. Their work could just as easily be seen as an upgrade rather than a merger in most instances. A few additions and tweaks from the Fenton data, and both the suit's forcefield and strength enhancement systems were amplified dramatically, while modifications from Henry's own tech made the body-to-suit energy transference twenty times safer than the Fentons' suit.

The suit wasn't initially designed for offensive force, but it was easy to add a few dangerous tricks, the most notable being the ability to throw a forcefield at opponents. After that, they moved on to altering the energy sources and ratio settings into safe, stable forms. That proved to be little trickier than expected and was no doubt going to need frequent adjusting as they continued the project. While it would run dominantly on Kim's bio energy, it still would need alternate power sources to lessen the load required of the heroine in long term situations and provide an alternate source when her energy levels were too low to risk powering the suit. The crossing of both power sources was a delicate situation. If done incorrectly, it could do serious damage to the suit or Kim.

"Sorry to make it more difficult for everyone, but while we're on the power source, do you mind if I make a suggestion?" Jazz asked hesitantly, trying very hard not to break Henry's focus. One part of how they were proceeding so fast was because of Henry's techno telepathy doing most of the work onscreen, quickly adding, altering and searching through files. It was really impressive, but it did seem to make her hesitant to risk breaking his focus. After all, if she'd startled him too much, he could have easily scrambled the whole project.

"Of course." Wade answered, taking just a second to wait for the green glow to fade from Henry's eyes before turning to her with an encouraging smile. "This is based off your tech, why shouldn't you? Did we miss something?"

"Nothing from the Ecto-suit data, or anything like that. As far as my limited knowledge can see, we're on point with that." Jazz shook her head. "I just thought that it might be a good idea to add an Ecto-converter system, if we could figure out how to make one that wouldn't add a twenty pound block to Kim's back."

"An Ecto-converter?" Well, that got Wade intrigued. "What's that precisely?"

"It's a device that takes pure ectoplasm or ectoplasmic energy and converts it into pure energy. A system that would work wonders for the suit as an extra power source if Kim was allied or fighting a ghost. Actually, adding a Spectre Deflector would be a good idea too, I should have mentioned that back when we were modifying the suit's gear. Sorry. That would shield her from possession and add an extra, strong shock to her punches and kicks if she finds herself fighting a ghost. Which, considering that we intend for her to team up with my brother, is a guaranteed scenario."

Taking over the computer Henry had used for Wade's maintenance logs as she talked, Jazz brought up the design of what had to be the most brilliant idea her father ever had. Normally that wasn't saying much, his ideas were usually ridiculous without Maddy's input, but this one was truly ingenious. And he did it all on his own. Jazz was quite proud of it.

"Ok, that I can add." Grinning widely, Henry got work again immediately, effortlessly transferring the specks and altering them into a compatible form for the suit. "And…there! Done."

"Though, the converter is going to be trickier." Bulma mused as Jazz brought up its schematics. "It's definitely a good idea though. We'll work on that, but I am bringing your parents into the loop before allowing it to be integrated into the suit."

"The suit's circuitry will probably need to be modified again too." Henry added thoughtfully, frowning as he compared the design to his calculations. "We're designing this suit for a normal human and based if off simply enhancing Kim's current one, so, combining that with the current delicacy of varying power sources, I only increased the suit's power capacity so much. So we will have to make adjustments to compensate whatever power boost this converter can provide."

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Worst case scenario, we simply add it to the second model." Wade shrugged, getting a nod from Bulma. "After all, the first is just going to be another prototype, not necessarily the final product. Either way, this is a great idea Jazz." He added with a grin.

"Glad you liked it." Jazz smiled back, before they dived into it again. Wordlessly agreeing to ignore alterations for the ecto-converter for the time being, they, admittedly slowly, made their way through stabilising Henry's energy system with the suit's original supply and effectively connecting it through the ecto-suit tech modifications before Henry and Jazz left the others discussing upgrades to the nano-bot system to check through their own weapon and tool designs to see if they could find anything suitable for Kim's use to add.

Looking over their creation as he was about to call it a day, Henry felt quite proud. There was still some room for improvement, but it was still quite the impressive design and there was little he could think to add at this time that wouldn't take away from Kim's strengths or risk damage to the suit. Bulma and Wade still needed to add the nanobot upgrades they were still discussing, but other than that, this was perfect.

"Mmm…almost done." That remark almost left him in a spluttering mess as Jazz turned the critical glare back at the screen before them. What was that supposed to mean? He'd put everything he could safely put into it, it's defensive and offensive tech was amazing! An amateur could be deadly with this suit, what could possibly be wrong with it? "Let's add some metal bracers onto the forearms for some extra protection." Oh, a small, non-technological addition. That made sense. If all the tech failed, a little metal armour could save Kim's life. "And then we change the look. I mean really, a plain, white jumpsuit with a few blue lines going through it? What is she, an astronaut? How dull and boring!" She added under her breath, quickly getting Bulma's agreement and leaving Wade spluttering just as much as Henry had been before.

Oh, yeah, he was quite happy to just move aside and let Jazz take care of that one. Women and fashion statements, he'd never understand it.

* * *

**AN:** Hey all. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm gonna try to update every Monday for the next five weeks. We'll see how we go from there. Well, later.


	8. Chapter 8

**Phase Two Begins**

It seemed that things were developing quite quickly at Capsule Corp. Bulma and her little geniuses were getting quite chummy. Something that had Vlad stewing in his chair as he watched them on his main monitor, all gathering for a new project. One that he could barely see with his camera on the wall behind them.

Getting intel of any kind from within the walls of Capsule Corp was near impossible, even for someone like Vlad. It drove him batty, even now. His attempts had been made and thwarted since day one back on the planet. Not only was it a key location to spy and learn about the Z Fighters, it was also one of, if not the most, technologically advanced companies in the world! The perfect kind of place to steal from, both to sell on black markets or to ghosts for money and allegiances and to increase his own arsenal. If he could manage to get his hands on capsule technology, he could use it to trap and eliminate all of his enemies forever!

But no attempts ever had a prayer. He'd tried hacking from a thousand different angles and locations, but even so much as trying to get access to a single security camera was not only blocked by a string of firewalls, but immediately set off warning systems and serious virus programs right back to him, corrupting his computers and alerting the company to his location. If it weren't for him predicting similar possibilities and invading other criminal hackers' homes, his return to Earth would have been discovered long ago. It was well and truly clear that he was outmatched. Without Technus' assistance, who he couldn't seem to track down, he'd never gain access to their precious files. At least not from the outside.

It wasn't until Gohan took off for China and discovered his lost past that Vlad even considered trying a more physical approach. That level of risk was much higher. Going himself was out of the question, he couldn't send a ghost other than Technus and have any hope for success and the security around Capsule Corp was so great that no spy drones ever got through. Vlad didn't even need to make an attempt at that to know, various spy organisations around the world, including Global Justice, had tried and failed many of times. That only left his own, far more unconventional spybots, the insectoid ones he used to use on Danny and the Fentons. They were ectoplasmically powered and operated on the ghostly plain's frequency, so they should be able to slip through Capsule Corps' security, but they were still risky. If they were discovered and analysed, they wouldn't even need to follow the device's signal back, they'd know instantly that Vlad was involved. All of his tech was discovered after he exposed himself and got stranded in space.

It was made dramatically riskier with the technopath nearby and could only show him what people were doing, but it was a risk he had to take. He had to stay up to date with their whereabouts and activities and this was the best he could do. He could only hope that, should his robots be discovered, he could activate their selfdestruct systems before the Matrix Tamer could hack his systems.

It was because of his presence that Vlad didn't dare move his spybot any closer, especially while the boy's powers were frequently active, and was forced to draw most of his understanding of the situation from their conversation, rather than the data logs and computer screens around them. It was vexing situation to say the least. However, he had managed to acquire quite a bit of insight and wasn't sure whether he was impressed or troubled by what he'd found out.

"Today's youth. Always aiming for the stars." He groaned, shifting the angle of his drone and zooming in, trying to get a better look at the screen while Jazz and Henry maintained a new, larger gap between them. "A battle suit using Kim's as a base and adding a weaker version of the Ecto-suit's enhancement technology. Brilliantly dangerous."

If they managed to succeed at this, he'd never be able to let it go. Not only would it make Kim's abilities far more impressive than they already were, it would allow her to effectively fight ghosts like himself. And that wasn't even the worst part in his mind. No the worst was that even in all the time he had that super suit, he'd never once even figured out how to recreate it as it was, much less alter its design and integrate it into another like this and most of them were mere teenagers with no previous knowledge of ectoplasmic technology! This was an insult to his intellect...

"Now, now Vlad, you put that ego away." Vlad growled to himself, giving himself the luxury of glaring at the quartet one last time before taking a deep breath and forcing the spite back down. He'd already decided that he wasn't going to let his ego get the better of him this time and he was going to stick to that if it was the last thing he did.

"Just take it as another objective for phase three." That was easy enough to concede to. This new super suit was just another Capsule Corp invention he could take advantage of. Assuming phase three in his plan could occur, that would depend on the positions of uncontrollable variables when the time came, but as things were right now, Vlad was confident that it could play out on time. Even if it didn't, there'd be other opportunities for the cunning to take advantage of.

The thought of which almost immediately turned all of his remaining frustration to glee as the next computer over caught his attention. Directing his spybot to scuttle around on its insectoid legs, he lined it up for the completely unobstructed view of the screen. Having studied, reviewed and constructed a number of simulations using every bit of data he'd acquired, Vlad couldn't be more confident in his final plan's potential for success. All he needed now was two things. The first item had been tracked down easily enough, but was locked away and would be impossible to get to undetected at the present time. However, a substitute was possible and much easier to obtain, if his theory was correct. The other was Justiman, who ironically, would be easy to approach, but whose location was currently unknown. Considering that Vlad's own methods of location were currently very limited, it was the greatest of boons to find Henry Wong doing it for him. The fact that he intended to take Kim to meet him again could be very beneficial too, if it happened at the right time. After all, Henry Wong was the biggest threat to his plans in more ways than one, if he wanted to win then one way or the other, the boy had to be removed. It was much more preferable for him to lead Vlad to Ryo though, not to mention a lot easier if he was beyond the reach of Capsule Corp and his allies when Vlad's forces struck.

"Ok everyone, great work, but I think we'll call it a wrap for now." Bulma called, drawing Vlad's attention back to the group. "This suit's design is as good as it can safely get, so it's time for a food break. We'll come back to it later with refreshed eyes and triple check it for flaws, make any final alterations and then start gathering the materials for the prototype tomorrow."

None of her prodigies had any complaints with that, quickly saving and encrypting their work before taking off, all of them looking keen for food. Bulma stuck around a bit longer, smiling brightly after them before turning back to their work station. Intriguing Vlad as she double checked that she was alone, she quickly set to work, pulling up the data of the original ecto-suit and copying it to a USB drive before leaving the lab.

"Well, well, what's this Bulma? Stealing Fenton Works files?" Now that was interesting. More than enough so to abandon monitoring the search for Ryo long enough to see what she was planning. So without a second thought, he typed in the command to have his drone take flight and hitch a ride on Bulma's lab coat near her shoulder and watched as she left the lab, walking purposefully right down the hall and to the elevator.

What was even more interesting was the fact that she didn't actually enter it until the third time it opened for her, the only time it was empty. It only grew more suspicious as she removed a secret hatch near the buttons to reveal another one mark with B3 and pressed it, sending the elevator down uninterrupted.

When the doors finally did open, it was definitely to an underground level. This hallway had no windows and was very dimly lit. The walls were completely blank and made of thick metal, with only one door located at the very end of the hallway, one that was heavily reinforced. The audio feed was even picking up a low buzzing sound, the kind you heard around a generator.

"Now this is interesting. You've put in a great deal of effort protecting this place, haven't you Bulma? I wonder what are you hiding down...NO!" However, that was all he got to see. For Bulma only took five steps down the hall before the feed completely shut down.

"How did this happen?" He cried, his fingers dancing over his keyboard as he tried to reactivate his drone, only to growl again as every attempt failed. There was no doubt in his mind that his spybot had been neutralised. He could only hope that it was due to something set up in the hall. If that was the case, then its small size and the lack of people down in that hallway may save it from being noticed until he could make his move. If it had been discovered and attacked, they might still be able to use it to find Vlad and that was bad.

He had to get another spybot out there quickly. It was imperative that he was prepared for the possibility of his discovery now. If he was caught unprepared, all of his plans could unravel. He needed to work faster now.

"But least now I'm aware of that secret level." He mused, his dark smirk taking its place on his lips once again. "After all, such a guarded place in such an amazing company must have plenty of juicy secrets for me to take. Especially if the rest is anything like the stolen Ecto-suit schematics."

Yes, this was risk he probably would have been better off not taking, but what could he say? This new, intriguing target might just be worth it.

...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE BACK IN CHINA?" Jake's screech was probably heard half a mile away, not that he noticed or cared. It wasn't like anyone was going to hear him. He was still well hidden away in the cabin of Gohan's grandfather and namesake, deep in the wilderness of Japan. Where said grandchild was also supposed to be. However... "You said you were only going for a fishing trip and that was DAYS ago! What the Hell, yo? What did you do, fall asleep in the ocean for three days?"

"No, nothing like that." Gohan muttered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and only making Jake glared harder. The Saiyan hybrid was lucky that he was a country away, if he could, Jake would have transformed and punched him in the face. Sadly, he had to settle for scowling and shouting through the Vcom's screen. "I ran into the Xiaolin monks and followed them home."

"And, even in over three days, it didn't cross your mind to tell me what was going on, monkey boy?" Jake snapped, completely ignoring he elation the thought of seeing Rai again offered him. There was no denying this tongue lashing. "It's been DAYS Gohan! Days! Last I heard from you, you were going a lousy two miles away to get dinner. You didn't even answer your com when _I_ called _you_! That is way beyond wack, yo! What if the dragons had found me, my oh, so great protector? I could have had my head on pike by now!"

"Yeah, sorry, I dropped the ball there." Gohan conceded, pouting apologetically.

"Oh, you dropped more than the ball there, bro! And when you do _finally_ get back, I'm gonna drop you!" Jake promised, raising his freshly scaled fist for emphasis. "Now, care to tell me what was so demanding that you couldn't spend a lousy two minutes calling me?" He asked, his tone promising retribution if the answer wasn't a good one.

A situation that was quickly confirmed as Gohan responded with a nervous, guilty gulp. "I uuuhh...didn't recharge my Vcom and forgot about it?" He answered, following it with a nervous laugh. "And when I did, I thought there was no way of charging it? I mean, I'm in an ancient temple that still uses candles for light, how was I supposed to know that the place had electricity?"

"By taking a single look at Kimiko, you doofus!" Jake retorted instantly, flinging his free hand into the air. "When doesn't that girl have a piece of tech on her person! What did you think _she_ was powering it with, Shen Gon Wu produced rainbows?"

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry, please forgive me." Gohan begged, bowing his head repeatedly. "I know I messed up bad. I'll make it up to you, I promise. But you are ok, right? The dragons haven't found you, have they?"

"...No, I'm fine." Jake growled, tossing the communicator down as he went to fridge, one of the few pieces of modern technology in the old home, and snagged himself a root beer, aggressively ripping off the lid and chugging half of it down. "I called to figure out what the heck was taking so long getting _our dinner_ and tell you that Kim's waiting for a call from you. So congratulations, you're disappointing her too!"

"Kim's back with us?" Gohan cried, a huge smile exploding on his face, the fact that he was being reprimanded completely forgotten. "Awesome! Bulma must have managed to snag Wade! Has she managed to draw in Ryo too yet? I miss him, I haven't managed to talk to him since before I got my memories back."

"You remembered Ryo all along?" Jake gaped, his frustration momentarily forgotten, as he flopped on the couch. "Kim and I couldn't remember him at all when we first talked. She just had red flags about Henry. So no, last I checked, which was this morning by the way, because I _do_ make a point to keep in touch with my friends, Henry was trying to track him down to introduce Kim to him."

"How many times do I need to say I'm sorry?"

"What makes you think that saying sorry's gonna cut it?"

"How about I bring Raimundo back with me? I'll even put a bow on him. Will that make you happy?"

"...It's a start." Jake conceded, the mental image of Gohan gift wrapping a struggling Raimundo forcing a small grin to grow on his face. "How is he anyway? Why isn't he part of this conversation?"

"The monks are all doing some intensive training right now." Gohan explained, turning his communicator around to the window, revealing a seriously dangerous looking obstacle course that was currently trying to skewer, roast and maim all four Xiaolin Dragons. "Apparently, they're currently going through some unseen trial to determine who's going to rise to the next level of their Order and become the official leader of their team. It'll end any day now, they just need to perform a quest of their own creation."

"I see...well, if he survives, tell him to call me or I'm gonna grab you by the tail and rip every single strand of fur off it one by one." Jake said cheerfully, eliciting a visible shiver from a horrified, paling Gohan.

"You bet! I'll tell him as soon as he's done. And conscious." Gohan nodded quickly, his free hand moving protectively over his waste.

"Then I'll be waiting." Jake said with a savage grin, taking pleasure in Gohan's squirming. The guy abandoned him for days without a word or any way to get help if shit hit the fan. He also failed to mention that Jake would have to hunt down his own food! He'd be even angrier about that if Huey hadn't agreed to go get burgers for them. As far as Jake was concerned, his vindictive fun was well justified. "Talk to you later, Tails."

"Uhh, bye." Gohan had never disappeared from view faster than he did at that moment and the guy could fly at super speed! Jake let himself relax with a chuckle at that before smiling, finally letting the happiness he felt from Gohan's news out to enjoy. Kim and Raimundo had easily been his best friends amongst the Guardians in the old days and now, within a week, he was getting his chance to reconnect to both of them. He couldn't wait for the next call from either of them, to hear how things were going on the search for Ryo and the latest piece of information Kim had learned about their most mysterious ally or maybe even get news on Danny's progress back home. Danny tried calling him now and then, but the Vcoms just don't have the dimensional breaching capabilities needed for more than a few garbled words through walls of static. For that level of techno sorcery, you needed Capsule Corp systems. He also couldn't wait to catch up with Rai and tell him about all the pranks and interesting situations he'd gotten himself into before leaving for China.

Though he really hoped that Gohan had filled him in on what happened after that by now. He was still crying himself to sleep at night about what happened to his Gramps. Having to flee for his life, leaving his family behind in the process, only made it more heartbreaking.

"Still, at least things are looking up." He muttered to himself, finishing his drink. Kim was back in life and Raimundo was about to re-enter it. Kim was tracking down Ryo too, so he could finally get to know the guy. That'd be nice. Danny should be back soon too, any day now for sure. It would be great to hang out with him again, show him all he'd learned about his powers since they'd been separated, find some video games to play, it'd be awesome. He really needed more company.

Speaking of which, it was at that moment that the door flew open with a gust of wind so strong that it blew Jake right off the couch.

"Whoa-ow!" Flailing as he spun sideways in the air, he crashed into the ground with his head before face planting the ground. Blinking as stars crossed his eyes, he didn't bother to do any more than slightly tilt his head up with a failed attempt at a glare at the snickering humanoid duck clad in red spandex standing in front of him. "Huey! I swear, if you keep doing that, I'm going to be eating roast duck."

"You'd have to catch me first, scale belly." Huey laughed, zipping around the room before throwing himself all over the newly vacated couch, a comic in one hand and a packet of Doritos in the other. "So, Gohan's still a no-show?" He asked, casually glancing around as he flipped a page and stuffed his mouth, eliciting a cry of disgust and a commando roll from Jake as crumbs flew his way.

"Yo,yo, stop spitting that junk at me! Get some manners, dude!" He cried, pulling himself to his feet and wiping crumbs off his shirt. "But no, Gohan isn't back, he's in China! He conveniently forgot to tell us that he was going after another Valour Guardian. It does mean I get Raimundo back, but I'm still gonna kill him."

"You're gonna kill everyone lately." Huey shrugged, completely unphased by everything Jake said as he shoved another handful of Doritos into his beak. Jake just growled, smoke leaving his nostrils as the duck boy let more crumbs fly.

Though he forced himself to take a few deep breaths and calm down a moment later. Taking a good look at him, it didn't take much to see past Huey's facade. Which was weird because he usually had the perfect poker face. He guessed the poor duck boy's stress was catching up to him.

It had been weeks since they'd gotten back through the portal from Disney town, and since then, they'd all been on the hunt for everyone associated with everything that went down, in between avoiding and misleading the Dragon Order in Jake's case. But despite all they'd tried, tracking spells from Foo Dog, surveillance from Capsule Corp, Huey running all around creation and a series of contacts they and their friends had accumulated, no one had noticed hide nor hair of the Dark Dragon, Chang, Charmcaster, Pete, aka the cat-man Captain Dark or Donald, the Duck of Doom anywhere past vague, near-useless rumours. It wasn't a hugely surprising outcome, both Dark Dragon and Charmcaster were good at hiding away while they planned, but it was disheartening all the same. If they couldn't find them, then they couldn't save Donald and that was a burden that was hitting the feathered speedster more and more every day. Night too. Jake wasn't the only one having nightmares.

Grabbing another bag of junk food for himself, Jake took a seat by the table and just looked around the cabin. Honestly, he'd long grown bored of this place. The fridge was the only thing that ran on electricity in the place and there was no running water, only external fresh water sources. There were no video games, no TV, his Ipod was only recharged when Huey took it elsewhere and only a duck and a Saiyan to talk to, both of whom frequently left him alone with little more than training to occupy his time. For his safety or not, cabin fever was getting too hard to bare, even without the worry and grief both he and Huey were dealing with.

They were slowly going insane here. Huey was right, Jake's temper had grown in recent days. Too much had happened and he was too far out of his comfort zone. He just wasn't dealing properly. Gohan ditching him had only made it worse, he had too few people left comforting him and providing security from the people trying to skin him alive already. He needed an escape, a sense of normalcy to distract him from his problems, but the only time he'd found one was when Kim...

That was it! Grinning as he swallowed his food, he turned his attention back to Huey. "Hey Fast Guy! How many dragons have you seen around Japan lately?"

"No more than you'd expect. Don't worry, they're nowhere near here." Huey responded, finishing up with his comic before going for a soda.

"I was actually more interested in whether they were around Metro City." Jake replied, rising to his feet as he stared at Huey hopefully. "If we're in the clear, I was thinking we could visit Capsule Corp. You know, introduce you to Kim Possible, get reminded what the internet is? What do you say, day trip?" Jake was sure it shouldn't be too dangerous. The dragons had already been through the area and Metro City's magical occupation was far too small to leave a dragon living there indefinitely. The chances of running into one or a creature that would recognise his human form and report his location to them were very low and he was really keen for a chance to hang out in a place with a TV, games, a shower and Team Possible. Monique and Felix sounded fun and he'd love to catch up with Ron again, he always did like the guy when he visited Kim in Middleton. But most of all, he just craved to be surrounded by a city again, if only for a few days. That was his normal and he _really_ needed a sense of normality right now.

"Metro City? Gohan insisted you stay here." Huey exclaimed, wagging his finger in the air scoldingly. However, the look was kind of ruined by the mischievous smirk crossing his beak.

"Yeah, well it was also insisted that he stay close to me, but that didn't stop him from crossing the border." Jake smirked back, crossing his arms across his chest and raising his head in mock challenge. Huey just chuckled in response.

"I'm wiped right now man, so give me tomorrow to check it out. It should be cool though." Jake just cheered at that, pumping a fist into the air. He was going to see Kim! He was leaving this Amish themed cabin for a loud, colourful, wonderful city! Car horns, people, skate parks, rap videos! This was going to be perfect.

Hell itself opening up wasn't ruining this for him. He just couldn't wait.

...

"Uuughhh!" Monique's groans and whines were the first sign of her waking the next morning and were impressively loud, especially to Kim, who could hear them through her shower. Though, what was even more impressive was just how green she was and how fast she passed Kim on her way to the toilet the moment the redhead opened the door.

"Oh geez, Monique!" Reacting on impulse, Kim immediately turned back in behind her, getting there just in time to pull Monique's hair back before she puked. Rubbing her poor friend's back until she was sure Monique was done, she gently pulled her to her feet and guided her to the sink. Monique merely hummed thankfully as Kim as she grabbed her toothbrush and immediately went at it, grunting appreciatively again as Kim offered her mouthwash.

"On a scale of one to ten?" Kim asked sympathetically, wrapping her arms around Monique and gently guiding her back to her bed the moment she was done.

"Eight." Monique sighed in return, curling up around her stomach the moment her body once again found her mattress, leaving it to Kim to pull up her blanket for her. "My stomach's doing the Macarena!"

"That's not good." Kim mused, biting her lip as she rested her hand on Monique's forehead. "You're looking a bit green too, but you don't have a fever or anything, so that's good news at least. Any other symptoms you're aware of?"

"No, just my stomach." Monique groaned, burying herself deeper in her sheets.

"Ok, then. I'll go see if Bulma has a medic I can bring up. And a bucket." Sticking around just long enough to fix up a glass of water for the downed girl, Kim quickly exited her room in search of help. Not that it took long to find, Wade and Ron were only a few feet down the hallway, with a doctor already heading their way. "Hey, I've got another one down in my room."

"Monique's sick too?" Wade asked as the medic nodded, motioning for his companion at his side to take care of it.

"Is she pale and puking?" Ron asked, surprising Kim as he looked a lot more disgruntled than concerned. "Felix has got it pretty bad too. On me!"

"What?" Kim asked confusedly, raising an eyebrow.

"Felix can't exactly run to the bathroom when he gets sick." Wade replied, only getting a 'duh' expression from Kim in response. "So Ron..."

"Oh." Well, that explained his mood. And, now that she was paying proper attention to notice such things, why he looked like he'd been dunked underwater. Clearly, he hadn't bothered drying off after washing away the vomit. "Eww!"

"You said it, Babe." Wow, he was in mood. Ron only ever called her that when he was peeved and snarky.

"Well, on that note, let's get out of here." Wade suggested, nodding his head toward the living area. "The doctor's here, so they're being taken care of and we don't want to be here if it's contagious. Let's see if our appetites can still be salvaged after Ron's encounter."

"Yeah, breakfast! Just what my doctor ordered." Ron cheered, lighting up already as they followed the young prodigy down the hall. Kim could only shake her head in sheer disbelief. After an encounter like that, anyone else would probably puke themselves if they tried to force down food and yet he was making a beeline for it. All well, he wasn't moody anymore, so she decided to just take the win.

Besides, she was a little too concerned about their friends to ponder her boyfriend's iron stomach for very long. She hoped it wasn't anything serious.

...

"Hey all, so the doctor just gave his verdict and it's food poisoning." Bulma announced as she walked into the room twenty minutes later. Which immediately caused Kim and Jazz to practically throw their food down, with Wade following suit at a slightly slower pace.

"How did that happen? I thought all the food around here was high quality and cooked by professionals." Jazz asked, turning back and forth from staring flabbergasted at Bulma to suspiciously eyeing her breakfast.

"I told Felix that the sushi looked bad. He and Monique still chowed down in it though." Ron said through a mouthful of food, earning him a displeased look from Henry and a glare and a growl from trunks as crumbs flew their way.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing. And it was confirmed by the morning staff, who smelt off fish the moment they entered the kitchen. Trust me, the chef responsible is getting told off in about twenty minutes." Bulma sighed, running a hand through her hair. "But don't worry on either front, everyone. This food is all fine and both Felix and Monique just need to rest. They are expected to be back on their feet tomorrow. Figuratively speaking, of course." She added quickly as half the people raised an eyebrow her way.

"Ah, settle down everyone, Felix would have laughed at that. Or at least made a quip." Ron smiled, shrugging the whole thing off, the others slowly doing the same. "Now, let's chow down already! Look at this spread, it's a King's banquet!"

"Why is there always so much?" Wade asked as Bulma sat down, following Ron's lead and moving on. "It's like this every meal and you could feed a lot of people with this."

"It's the staff habit when I have guests at this point." Bulma laughed before pointing at Trunks as the boy wolfed down five sausages in quick succession with one hand while the other raised a fork bearing bacon and an egg. "My guests usually include up to three other Saiyans and all of them have the same, giant appetites as my son and husband. Those five alone could easily eat an entire village out of house and home."

"Well then, it's a good thing you're rich." Ron grinned, earning a chuckle from Bulma's parents. And with that, everyone settled down and got back to eating.

The day mostly fell back into the week's usual routine after that. Bulma and her interns went back to work on their project, while Ron split his focus between his new video games as he snuggled with Kim on the couch while she read more data in her Vcom or the nearest magazine, helping her check up on their sick friends and calling home to talk to and sooth a crying Rufus. Filling the void that was her time with Monique felt a bit odd, but Kim still managed to entertain herself. Practicing the kata Henry taught her filled in a fair bit of time and what was left was either spent in the garden with Mrs Briefs or talking to Jake, who was practically vibrating with joy as he told her about reconnecting with Raimundo. He also took great pleasure in informing her about what happened with Gohan and the threats he'd given the alien Halfling, so Kim should expect a call any time now. Kim could only shake her head at that. It was downright stupid and it wasn't like the Gohan she remembered to be so careless. Still, she just let it go, Jake was making him suffer enough. She didn't yet remember him being such a sadist either, but then, times had been particularly hard on him lately. He'd get back to normal soon enough, she just needed to give him time. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

But of course, that was too good to last on this trip. Considering the impacts of the last two days Kim wasn't all that surprised when just as she left her room, having left a fresh glass of water and a packet of saltineson the sleeping Monique's dresser, her Kimmunicator started beeping.

"Wade, you do remember that I'm in the same building as you, right?" Kim asked, skipping the usual hello as the African boy's face appeared onscreen.

"A building the size of a village, yeah! Like I want to run around the whole compound just to find out you went to sale. This was much-whoa!" Wade retorted with a smirk, only to duck his head as jazz tried to smack the back of it as she walked by, muttering about stereotyping under her breath. "Sorry Jazz, but Kim is like that! Anyway, we got a hit on the site." Wade went on, slowly raising his head back up, a little afraid Jazz might try again. "It looks like Adrena lynn is out of jail and on the revenge scheme."

"She's in Middleton?" Kim frowned, narrowing in on the Beuno Nacho behind the blonde extremist fraud. "If she's made her declarations, how come she hasn't already been arrested yet? She's hardly subtle. Last time she called me out, she did it on public TV and told the world exactly where she was. Does she have another hostage or something?"

"No, she acting a little smarter this time. Though only a little." Wade shook his head as he brought up Kim's website, showing her the latest hit.

"The hit came from her? As a challenge?" Kim cried, staring at the wrist mounted screen incredulously as her eyes flickered down the file. "With threats to my family if I don't show up for a rematch?"

"Complete with a time and place to meet, assurance that you won't find her before then and a threat of traps already in place for your family." Wade nodded with a scowl as he reappeared onscreen. "That being said, I wouldn't worry too much. I've already warned your family, who by the way, already left to visit your uncle's ranch anyway. Clearly, this idiot isn't aware that you're all out of town. This doesn't even need your attention, I'm basically just letting you know she pulled this stunt. I'll just give the cops a copy of the threat. This is a clear break of her parole, they can arrest her again, no problem."

"Actually Wade, get me a ride. She wants me, so she's got me." Kim responded, firmly shaking her head, much to wade's surprise.

"What? Why? She's of no concern at all." Wade cried, staring at her wide eyed. "And I'd thought that after yesterday..."

"That's the main reason I'm accepting the challenge." Kim declared. "I need to assure I've gotten over or at least actually can deal with whatever froze me up yesterday and taking on that bimbo is the safest field test I can think for that. Who knows, this might even help me figure out what went wrong. Besides, it's the principle of the thing. She threatens my family, so I knock her block off myself. After all, that kind of rep is the best way to keep my family safe from every villain I face."

"Well, if you feel that strongly about it," Bulma called, suddenly smiling down over a startled Wade's shoulder with a thumbs up. "then I've got your ride covered. Grab Ron and head out to the front lawn, I'll meet you there with one of our planes and company pilots."

"Thanks Bulma! That's perfect. I'll be there in twenty." Kim grinned back before shutting the call down. Taking just a moment, she let in a slow, long breath, calming the small surge of nerves she wasn't used to such a small mission bringing. Admittedly, she was a lot more uncomfortable with this idea than she'd let on. She'd be fine though, she could handle it. Besides, even if Felix and Monique were out of action, another detail that was driving her inhibitions, Ron was going to be beside her the whole time and that thought brought back plenty of confidence.

Setting the most confident look she had on her face, she quickly turned back toward her room to grab her mission suit, only stopping for a moment as Ron exited his and Felix'. "Ron, grab your gear and let's go. We got a little mission back home."

"Sweet! Then we can see Rufus on the way back!" Was Ron's only response before he practically dived back into his room. Kim could only smile at that. At the very least, her goofy boyfriend was full of confidence.

Of course, he should be. Even if Kim struggled again, Ron was more than enough to take almost any of their foes down all on his own. That was just one more thing that could give Kim the comfort she so strangely needed lately.

...

Vlad had to give himself and his new underlings credit, this was looking to be his most successful plan ever. Though they still scowled at the idea of sharing glory and the air they breathe, jibed and riled each other up constantly, forcing Spectra to play mediator more than once and leaving her giving him 'this better be worth it' threats, each member seemed more than capable of doing their part. Vlad had expected it to take at least four more days to gather and perfect everything they needed for the next two phases of the plan and yet they'd already completed everything. Their collective access to resources and information made it easy for those with the needed skills to construct their tools and get into required positions to complete every objective in record time. They barely needed a signal to begin.

On top of that, Vlad didn't even need to set up a second distraction. Even as he pondered his plan's progression, Kim and Ron were taking off, back to America for a mission. Adrena lynn had actually brought up a revenge scheme all of her own. Not that it mattered much at this point, no one was likely to stop the next two phases of the plan now, but it was good that the heroine and the mystic powerhouse had left Capsule Corp, regardless of what route the final phase took.

"If only my plans worked this perfectly back in the old days." Vlad sighed, watching every aspect of the unfolding events like a proud father. "Although, I will admit that I'm wondering if I'm aiming for something a bit too dramatic." He mused, a slight frown crossing his face as watched Kim and Ron take off on one of Capsule Corps' planes. "After all, it would be so easy to have Gemini or Spectra or...anyone really, simply blow up that plane midflight and end her life right there." It was a tempting thought. A perfectly effective method and even if Kim and Ron survived the explosion, depending on when the attack occurred, they'd only land into the near eternal sea. But...no, that wasn't worth it. In fact, it was far too risky to his plan at this point. Kim's death needed to be as public and dramatic as possible. That was a requirement to keep Spectra both onboard and from betraying him. If she revolted, then the plan would be ruined in an instant and he'd be in jeopardy. That couldn't happen, at least not until the other targets had all been neutralised. Besides, keeping her alive until the end increased the chances of much greater spoils from his victory, while risking nothing. No, it was best to leave it as is.

"Well then, there's only one thing left to do." He mused, a maniacal smirk crossing his face as he pushed a few buttons and waited just a moment longer than he'd like before Drakken's face filled his screen once again.

"What is it now, Vlad?" 'Drakken' demanded, staring seethingly through the screen. "I just had to deal with Electronique trying to fry half our forces, so this better be good news."

"Oh, it is my dear." Vlad nodded, never losing his smirk as he motioned to the screen in Spectra's view, one depicting the sight of a very strange tower. To put it bluntly, it was literally shaped into the word GO. "I see that your team is well ahead of schedule and our first targets are all accounted for. I assume that Gemini's and Drakken's men are all in position for our first two targets?"

"Of course!" Spectra snapped, her eyes turning red as she glared at him. It was good that they were so far ahead. Though she was one of the few ghosts he'd ever heard of that had the patience for longer term strategies, it was safe to say that Spectra was about to reach the limit with her rowdy associates. "Testing of the Modulators was a complete success, the secondary base is being set up as we speak and Gemini's men, who have been in place since before we started this plan, have all been safely updated on their new roles. We're ready to go and if you are calling to say anything other than let's begin, I am going to throw the plan away and feast on these arrogant, good for nothing-"

"No need for theatrics, by all means start the plan." Vlad butted in, pasting a pleasant look on his face. "Just make sure our little friend remembers to grab our prize."

"Please, you know full well that I don't need to say a thing. If he goes on about that restored bauble one more time..." Was all Spectra said with a snarl before the screen went blank. Not that Vlad minded at all. As long as the plan succeeded, he could more than handle a little attitude.

After all, soon, the threat Kim Possible played poster child to, the greatest threat on the living plain to Vlad's safety, would be no more. And then, so would she.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** Hey all. I feel the need to add a warning to this one. It's not all that graphic, but it does get a little more gruesome here.

* * *

**GO Falls**

_'What was I thinking working with this idiot? How did I not see exactly this coming?'_ To say that Spectra was furious was an understatement. Drakken's eyes were flashing red so much that she'd been forced to put on sunglasses and the inside of his gloves had been thoroughly shredded, something the scientist's flimsy hands never could of pulled off without her enhancing his strength. It was taking every bit of willpower in her being not to just abandon the body and Vlad altogether.

This group of delinquents had been nothing more than a giant headache since the moment they were assembled. All of them looking down on someone else, throwing their weight around like they were a freaking king, questioning the worth of everything everyone else did, the list goes on! She was honestly keen to let Electronique ruin everything and light the lot of them up, it would have made her century, but that cursed, ghost hybrid just had to entice her with a literal world of misery. The youth she'd gain from that moment alone would be eternal. She couldn't just let that chance go by, her very being refused to allow it. Even if it meant suffering through these Neanderthals.

'_At least now I should be done with them all the sooner.'_ If she were less furious with his very existence, Spectra guessed that she'd actually be rather thankful of her associate right now. Pushing up the plan date, without the risk of compromising any details at that, had gone over wonderfully with the mob. They were after all, just as keen to see the last of each other as she was and had doubled their efforts the moment she informed them of the news.

Though Dementor and Gemini still felt the need to be infuriating and repeatedly pointed out the remaining risks, as small as they may be at this point. If Kim's computer nerd could track these villains as well as Vlad believed, then while it was true that the selected team for this mission wouldn't strike up any direct suspicions over the rest of their associates, one look at so many villains gathered could draw attention to the rest of their activities the moment Wade started monitoring the situation. If that happened, then those already toeing the exit would desert the alliance and make the plan impossible to complete.

Or so they said. At this point, even if they did leave, Gemini would probably take everything he needed and finish phase two all on his own. Honestly, Spectra would love to encourage it, but she doubted that would go over well. After all, she was absolutely certain that he was only sticking around so Drakken would take the blame if the plan did fail. Telling him to do it on his own would probably just be taken as doubt in the plan and suggest the same desire for a scapegoat. They did have to inspire confidence in their scheme to keep everyone onboard as it was still the, honestly nonexistent, hope that everyone would stick around to help with the ending. No, as long as their exact location wasn't discovered before the second attack, they were fine.

A situation that was almost impossible seeing as everyone currently on duty was either heading for the target or working monitor duty from a warehouse in the middle of Wisconsin.

"You're technology is all show, no substance." One of Gemini's minions, Gamma, grunted, drawing a smug look from Dementor that Spectra completely ignored. "If this computer represents the quality of all your inventions then no wonder all your plans have failed. The average household computer could do almost all the work this monstrosity can while taking up a lot less space and possessing a friendlier user system."

"Stop complaining and do your job, techie! You're only hacking into the most pathetic security system in the world! How much more could a competent hacker possibly need?" Spectra snapped back with a snarl.

"Labels on the buttons? A basic understanding of their layout? I'm pretty sure I hit one button and flushed a toilet two minutes ago." Gamma retorted, bringing snickers from Dementor.

"Just make it work, Gamma!" Gemini exclaimed with an exasperated roll of his eyes. "The sooner this plan is tried and failed, the sooner we leave for our own headquarters."

"Yes sir!" Spectra had to admit, Gemini had his uses to her. The fear and anxiety he distilled into his minions was absolutely delicious. For a light snack as least. Plus, it lit a fire under Gamma, within two minutes, he'd successfully tapped into their targets' cameras and was giving them a view of every room within the place.

"Ahh, good. They're all home. I guess you can provide adequate recognisance." Dementor grinned, rubbing his hands together. It was true, every target was on screen, doing one ridiculous thing or another. "I'm still surprised that you're going through with this one, Drakken. After all, their relations to your lieutenant..."

"That's why Shego's not here or aware of this." Spectra exclaimed, barely paying them any attention as she studied the screens, far more intently than any of the others. "They are superpowered allies of Kim Possible, which we can't let her keep. Plus, the spoils of this victory will cement our victory against our final targets."

"I've heard that before." Dementor muttered under his breath.

Spectra growled under breath for appearances, but didn't really pay him any noticed. She had about two seconds to find the sign she was waiting for before the villains started demanding why they weren't attacking yet and it was tricky to see in the crazy. The purple clad hero, Mego, was busy talking to himself as he posed in a mirror, the Twins, Wego, were multiplying like crazy while having what looked like an eating contest with a mountain of burgers and the buff blue guy, Hego, was dancing around in the main meeting room without his pants and waving his hands in the air...while a green beetle flew on and into his shoulder. Though there was no sign of any change to Hego to the others, suddenly his fingers were forming circles with his thumb and each of his fingers repeatedly. Perfect, Bertrand was in place.

"Right, everyone, let's begin!" Spectra yelled, throwing a fist as dramatically as she could into the air. "Electronique, if you could so kindly get us started?"

"About time!" After that, the base bound villains shut up and watched with looks varying from scepticism to sadistic pleasure as Team Go's greatest villain led the Mathter and his minions right to the front door and sent a devastating surge of electrical power right through the front door's locking system. The outer components were blown apart in seconds, leaving the electrical villainess all the access she needed.

...

"ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!"

"I heard you the first time!" Mego screeched, his feet pounding against the metal floor and grumbling to himself about the resulting pain as he made his way to the command room. It wasn't like he even needed the alarm to tell him something was up, the entire tower had rattled at whatever ruined his Me Day and he was cranky enough about it without the ringing in his ears, damn it!

"What's happening now? What did you morons do?" He snapped, bursting through the door only to come to a halt and stare in fear as he the source of the trouble was found on the giant main screen. "Electronique is here? With the Mathter?"

"Yes, and she has already somehow shut down all security, the dastardly fiend!" Hego cried, not looking up from the console he was practically punching. "She's also busted the door! It won't take long for her to hack her way through. And Aviarius is swooping around in the air too. This place is about to be overrun with dastardly foes!"

"So what are you doing about it?" Mego yelled, only to scream as the roof door opened up, allowing the airborne villain to swoop right in.

"WARNING! ALL DOORS OPENING! WARNING!"

"Guys?" Wego's voice broke in, drawing both heroes' attention to another popup screen showing the red clad heroes talking into a wall mounted com system. "What's goi-ARGH!"

BOOM!

"No!" Mego cried, jumping back in horror as the screen was filled with a tower shaking explosion before going blank. "Wego!"

"Those villains will be punished severely for this!" Hego however, despite his exclamation, barely even looked up from what he was doing. He only stopped a moment later as another popup appeared on screen, this one emblazoned with CALLING smack in the middle of it.

"You've spent all this time calling someone?" Mego screamed incredulously, glaring furiously at his brother's back. "You should be getting our defences up! Or going after Wego! They need help, they could be really hurt!"

"We all need help!" Hego snapped, staring intently at the screen.

"Help will do us no good if we're dead before it can arrive!"

"The doors have already been...Wade!" Hego cried, his face finally warping into one of true fear and panic as the young African boy's face appeared on screen.

"Hego, Mego, what's-"

"We're under attack!" Hego shouted, waving his hands desperately, emphasising the alarms and explosions. "Our enemies have teamed up and the Go Tower is compromised! We need help! PLEASE! Wego might already be..."

He never bothered to finish the line. Electricity was already surging through the outside of the computer system, blowing it up half a second later.

"NO!" Mego exclaimed, pale with terror as he whipped around to find Electronique already in the main doorway. Followed a second later by Aviarius bursting through the other, his evil laughter already echoing throughout the room.

"So long, hero!" Electronique smirked, her hands already raised and charging up electricity. However, it was a blast from the other direction that got him first.

"AAHHH!" Mego screamed as his entire body was coated with energy and a very familiar churning within him swirled before seeping out of his body, heading back the way the beam came. In the form of purple energy. When the last of the power left him and the beam finally let him go, he dropped bonelessly to the ground. His strength was spent and his powers...

"YES! Aviarius cheered, raising his staff into the air. "The purple glow is mine again!"

"Stop cheering and take the other one already!" Electronique snapped, unleashing a surge right at Hego. Not that she'd needed to bother, for the whole time all of this was going on, the big, blue doofus had been standing still. It was only at the last half a second before the electricity hit that he showed even the simplest signs of emotions since his dramatic display over the call he'd made. A look of pure terror.

"AARRGGHHH!" Hego's scream was ear piercing as he was thrown off his feet and back into the destroyed computer, only for it to blow him away as it exploded again. Needless to say, when he crashed into the ground near Mego, he didn't get up again. He didn't even so much as groan as Aviarius turned his restored staff's crystal on him and stole his power once again.

"HAHA! Two powers down, one to go! Then I, Aviarius, will be the most powerful-"

"Stop with the exaggerated gloating and finish the job!" Electronique snapped, snarling right into the avian villain's face. "We don't have all day! That meddlesome Kim Possible might be distracted, but that doesn't mean she can't send Global Justice and who knows who else our way at any minute!"

"Fine, fine. Sheesh, this is why I don't work with people." He sighed before letting out a high pitched whistle. "CONDOR!"

The fwap of heavy wings and a brown blur immediately responded to the call. Only slowing down long enough for its maniacally laughing master to jump on its back, the powerful bird swooped around the room, following the walls. Raising his staff, Aviarius summoned the strength of the blue glow slammed his fists right into and through the walls of the metal room, not stopping until he was sure that he'd critically damaged every support beam hidden behind them before diving through the door, the condor snagging a furious Electronique along the way.

"Unhand me, you overgrown feather duster, before I roast you alive!"

"Relax lady, or would you rather be buried with them?" Aviarius's retort was the last thing Mego heard amongst the groans and cracks of the building around them before a thunderous boom bombarded his ears from above. He didn't even have time to look up before the ceiling came crashing down upon him. He certainly didn't have time to save himself. However, there was one thing he could do.

It was a long shot to say the least, but it was all he had. So, half a second after the rumbling of deadly debris began, he ignored his own safety entirely, forced himself up and shoved Hego as hard as he could, thanking whoever was listening that the last explosion had launched him so close to the heavy, reinforced, circular table. It was designed to handle even Hego's strength when he got carried away, so, hopefully, it could handle the raining chunks of metal coming down upon them. Mego had just enough time to smile as Hego rolled beneath it, just enough time to feel relief, before the world crashed upon him.

...

Further down the tower, Wego was struggling not to hack, gasp or cry out. Breathing itself was a serious problem, he was desperate for air, but he didn't dare draw attention to himself, not yet. It was too dangerous on his own and his head was far too fuzzy to focus on his power. He couldn't create any more clones right now and the ones he had...

Well, both of their lifeless bodies were being snagged and tossed against a wall by the Mathter's minions.

The explosion had come out of nowhere. Yes, the tower was definitely being attacked and shaking, but there had been no sign of the cause anywhere near them. They'd never seen it coming before it consumed them.

It was only by sheer dumb luck that Wego had managed to survive. He'd been fortunate enough for his partner to be between him and the blast, covering him enough that the shockwave struck him before the flames could. Acting on instinct, he'd immediately created a clone before him, letting it take the progressing flames for him again before crashing into the wall and being buried beneath it as the blast brought it down. He was badly banged up, had a concussion and was struggling to breathe under the weight of the rubble, but he was alive. Unlike the other two Wego, both of which were unrecognisably burned.

"It appears my calculations were on point, as usual." The Mathter boasted, puffing his chest up as he stared down at the bodies. "This has been a remarkably easy venture. Whoever thought taking down the great Team Go would be so simple?"

"Um, did we take him down boss?" One of his minions asked, making Wego tense as he watched them as best he could through the small cracks in the rubble and his blurry vision. "These two do have the power to multiply, are we sure we killed the real Wegos?"

"I am very sure! Though I will concede that we should confirm the tricky variable has not come into play. Continue with the plan, but watch out for any other Wegos. If there are more, they won't be far away. They never are. And if we do miss them, they won't get far. Not after our formula has found its conclusion."

Now Wego was trying even harder not to move, something that became that much harder as adrenaline worked overtime through his sluggish body. Struggling to focus his vision, he just managed to notice the three of them head off in different directions.

He waited for a good few minutes, listening as best his struggling mind could for any signs of the villains and ensuring that he was alone as best he could before, far too slowly, shifting metal and copper chunks off of himself. Freeing his head and successfully rocking a particularly large chunk off of his back, he took a number of deep, greedy breaths of air, satisfying his lungs and, mercifully, restoring a little of his cognitive ability, just enough to concentrate and create a single clone. It was far from a perfect clone, in fact, it was little more than a shell, bearing even less mental capability then he himself currently had, but it was sufficient enough to assist with freeing him. The clone pulling him to his feet, Wego practically laid over it as he directed it to drag him towards the exit.

"_Hego. Mego. I'm sorry._" Forcing his head back as he was led to and out the main door, Wego's eyes stung with tears as he thought of his brothers. He wanted to so badly to help them. They were in trouble, but there was nothing he could do. He was too hurt, his powers couldn't work right. He'd just be in the way. A liability.

It didn't change the fact that he was abandoning them though. Sighing as the cool, sea breeze danced over his face, he guided his duplicate around to the far side of the island and into a small, hidden rock cave. It was little more than a trench, but it was sturdy and more than capable of hiding him away until the trouble passed. He should be safe. He could only hope that his brothers would be ok too.

...

Muttering curses at the dimwit bird man under her breath as she readjusted her clothes, Electronique quickly made her way swiftly back toward the tower's entrance. She'd had the overgrown pigeon set her down the minute they'd gotten back to the lower part of the building, in the much more stable cement block underneath the GO structure, sure of its maintained structural integrity, but she had no delusions. The upper floors were already crumbling, they could fall at any time, Aviarius had gone back to ensure that, and there was no guarantee that the base could withstand that much force coming down on it. Even though the Mathter had yet to finish his job.

"Mathlete, hurry it up!" She snapped, activating the communicator in her ear. "The clock's about done ticking. Have you done your job or not?"

"Settle down, you walking battery. I am simply measuring a few variables and neutralising a few others from the equation."

"Such as?"

"Ensuring the multiplying agent has been subtracted from the formula."

"Urgh!" This was why she'd never even considered allying with Team Go's other enemies before. They were all annoy, slow, arrogant as hell and ridiculously pathetic.

If the payout for this plan was even slightly less appealing...

Forcing herself not to think about it right now, she opted for simply picking up speed, running down a few corridors and a stairway, not stopping until she was only a few hallways from the front door and found her path blocked by the rubble of The Mathter's first equation bomb and the two blackened bodies it left behind.

"Well, at least he did something right." She muttered to herself, nodding approvingly as she found scraps of red and black fabric around them. Assuming his search didn't pull up any other half-pint thorns in her side, all of Team Go was dead, her revenge complete, if you ignored Shego's continued existence. She'd get her later, once this alliance had met its end. "Bird brain, get down here already. We have your last Go power to steal."

"Already on my way." Aviarius snapped. True to his word, it was only a few seconds later that the heavy thumps of large, flapping wings hit Electronique's ears, the man and his bird swooping in for a landing a moment later. Jumping of the avian, Aviarius took a look around for his prey and almost puked at the sight before him. "Ahh, wow. You know, as much as I imagined destroying this clown squad, I never really thought about what the bodies would look like afterward."

"Worry about your weak stomach later and take their power already! We don't have time for weak willed sentiment, this building's going to fall on top of us!"

"Right, right." Aviarius gulped, closing his eyes as he pointed his staff at the corpses. The unleashed light from his newly restored staff immediately sucked away the red glow, just as it did with the purple and blue.

However, even without any understanding of the origin of Team Go's powers or the magic glass ball Aviarius had somehow gotten his hands on, Electronique could still tell something was wrong and cried out in shock at the sight before her, startling the bird fanatic's eyes back open.

Though the red glow was moving to the crystal, there wasn't nearly as much energy as the other two had. However, while that was concerning, the thing that had both villains dumbstruck was the suddenly extremely rapid deterioration of the bodies. They both dissolved so fast that by the time the minuscule red energy had finished seeping from their beings they'd completely collapsed into dust.

"That didn't happen before. What does it mean?" Electronique demanded, whipping her head to her wide eyed associate.

"I'm not sure. I never used my crystal on dead, damaged bodies before. But, if I had to guess..." A troubled frown crossing his face, Aviarius turned his attention back to his staff's crystal, concentrating. A second later, it glowed a dull red, almost pink. "Just as I thought! There's hardly any red power in here. Both of these were clones!"

"What?" Electronique hissed, tensing as a snarl grew across her lips. "But that means-"

"That the twins are still on the loose." Aviarius nodded, growling himself. That had Electronique's blood boiling. The math obsessed fool had failed to get their targets, had let them slip right through his hands! The brats hadn't even been seen, which meant that they were either well hidden or long gone.

Though, probably the former. She doubted they'd leave. The fact that this stupid tower was on a small rock in the ocean, making leaving difficult, plus the fact that their big brothers were still inside, they were most likely creeping around the tower somewhere. Family loyalty and all that nonsense. With all the damage they'd already caused, assuming that they hadn't gotten caught in it already, it shouldn't take long to find...

"Oh bird droppings!" Aviarius cried, pulling her right out of her thoughts as he pointed out the main doorway. "We've got company!" Following his finger, Electronique scanned their view and let out a loud, aggravated groan. Even with their limited view, she could see a number of news helicopters, police patrol boats and at least one aircraft clearly coming from a Global Justice base heading their way. They didn't have time to chase down the brats. They'd have to settle with what they'd already achieved. "Mathter, are you done yet?"

"Yes, my triangular positioning is right on point!" The Mathter responded, quickly getting similar confirmations from his minions. "The slightest tilt of force will have my bags of decimal points spilling all over all the major load baring points and bring this place crashing down. All we have to do is get out."

"Way ahead of you!" Electronique exclaimed, grabbing Aviarius by his cape and practically carrying him through the air as she charged for the exit, only stopping when they and the following condor were safely outside. "Now fool, strike the building!"

"But the Mathter-"

"Collateral damage!" Electronique snapped dangerously, terrifying the bird villain as her electrically covered body got right in his face. "He's lost to us either way, so help me finish the job and let's go! Global Justice and the cops are almost here!"

Aviarius gulped and shivered under her death stare for another few seconds before conceding to her will, the staff coating him in the blue glow once again as his fist struck the building at the same time his malicious partner sent the biggest surge of electricity yet through the exposed cracks in the walls.

"WHOA! WAIT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I'M ST-ARGH!"

"Farewell, dweeb." Electronique said flippantly as The Mathter's voice was drowned out by the earthquake worthy crashes and booms before his communicator cut out completely. Sparing a few seconds to watch with glee as the tower started to cave in on itself, she followed Aviarius onto his condor's back and flew away, laughing victoriously as the whole tower finally came down.

...

Shego had been having quite a relaxing time. With all of Drakken's take over the world schemes put behind them and the cash reward they'd both received for their part in saving the world, she'd spent a lot of time at spas and resorts. She had to admit, she was enjoying this new lifestyle. She wasn't a queen, but she was still being treated like one and she was thriving in it.

"Ohhhh, yeah, that's the spot! Right there." Smiling in pure pleasure as the masseuse worked her way down her back, Shego was struggling to keep herself still, fighting the urge to arch into those talented fingers. This woman could give even Midus serious competition.

Finishing the session, Shego gave the lady one of her extremely rare, honest complements before heading out on her way for a bite to eat. She'd lost track of time a little during the euphoria and she was sure that the lunch rush had ended, but that was nothing room service couldn't fix.

However, as she passed a rec room, a collective gasp from the teenagers inside and a flicker in the corner of her eye of an image on the TV had all of her previous thoughts and happiness disappearing in an instant, her body freezing as all of her focus went onto the screen depicting a tower falling apart on a small island. One shaped like a very certain word.

"_Emergency response teams are still digging through the wreckage for the remaining members of Go city's heroes, Team Go. All four remaining members of the team have been confirmed home when the villains attacked, however, so far only one Wego has been found. The young twin hero has already been airlifted to the hospital with noticeable injuries across his body and head trauma. Unfortunately, while everyone on sight is still hoping for the best, praying that their powers have assisted in their survival, the likelihood of a more tragic reality is quickly setting in."_

The reporter went on, describing the scene, the sight of the fleeing villains, even announcing the found, dead body identified only by his outfit as the Mathter, but Shego barely heard a word of it. She didn't even noticed when she'd fallen to her knees, when the tears started pouring from her eyes or when multiple people came to her, trying to help her. Her mind was replaying the scene of her old home coming crashing to the Earth with her annoying, unbearable...brothers inside. Neither Hego or Mego appearing from the wreckage. Over and over again. It wasn't long before she was hyperventilating. Before her chest started burning. She still didn't notice any of it.

Not until it all came out at once in an ear splitting, heartbroken scream.


	10. Chapter 10

**Grief and Debrief**

_"For those just tuning in, yesterday afternoon, the people of Go City watched on in absolute horror as Go Tower, the home of our own righteous team of super heroes, Team Go, was reported to have been attacked. Amongst the culprits were Aviarius and Electronique, two of Team Go's greatest enemies, both of whom managed to escape pursuit and are on the run. Our super powered protectors had asked for help, but before assistance could even reach the island, they, and the rest of the city, were forced to bear witness as the symbol of Justice came crashing to the ground._

_"The search for survivors at the Go Tower catastrophe has continued right through the night and into the morning, however, it has been without many results. It is still unknown just how many intruders had attacked, so rescue crews are forced to work through the unstable debris. Results have been hard to come by as the debris is still very unstable._

_"However, most of Team Go has been found. One of the Wego twins was found outside and hidden away. He was reported to be injured, but fortunately the worst of it was a concussion and a few sprains. However, that luck has not held for the other inhabitants. Hego has been transported to Go City Memorial Hospital in critical condition and was the only other person found to have survived. The other twin Wego has yet to be found and it is with a heavy heart that I must report that Mego has come to a tragic end. As has the Mathter, who was only identifiable by his uniform. Images of his discovery have been deemed too gruesome to air..."_

Tears were pouring down her face as Kim shut down her wrist Kimmunicator's news report. She didn't even bother wiping them away as she stumbled on weak knees, making her way to the airport's exit.

"Kim!" That is, until she stumbled. Snagging her before she could fall, Ron pulled her into his side and guided her to the nearest bench, ignoring her halfhearted struggles as he forced her down. "Kim, sit for a few minutes! You're no good to anyone like this, so sit down, breathe and try to calm down."

"I sat down plenty on the plane." Kim snapped back, gulping back her moans as she tried to get up again.

"And drove yourself crazy for every minute of it!" Ron retorted, pushing down firmly on her shoulders, not giving an inch. "You haven't slept nearly enough and you've been going crazy the whole ride from here! The bad guys aren't even here anymore, what can rushing possibly do, besides mess you up?"

"Talk to Wego and-"

"Get nowhere fast, because he got a concussion and is probably still passed out! Besides, what could he tell you that could actually change what's already been done?"

Kim just glared defiantly back with watery eyes for a few moments before sighing in defeat. Ron was right. This wasn't what she was used to, the problem wasn't still there to be solved. It was far too late to do her save the day thing.

She'd known that really, from the moment Wade brought up a hit on her website. She and Ron had found out a lot later than most people, Adrena Lynn had kept them preoccupied for a while and the time change had hit not long after. They'd barely made it back to Kim's home before crashing, Ron deeming it far too late for a surprise visit to his own home with a sleeping baby in it. It was only because of her brothers freaking out and waking her up to the morning news that she was up and aware of it before noon. What quickly followed was a call to Wade and a berating for not tell her before demanding that he fix her a ride to Go City at once. Calamity had struck her friends and she'd refused to sit by and do nothing. After an emotional argument over the worth of it, and a declaration that Kim would just buy a plane ticket herself, Wade gave in and got Bulma's permission for Kim's ride to take the detour. The pair of them pair of them had taken off within half an hour.

And yet, even though she was here now, mere miles away from Team Go, there was still nothing she could do to help them. She could only see if they were ok. It was so frustrating! Especially after the results of her last mission. She hadn't frozen at all! She'd performed perfectly, fearlessly. She'd felt useful again, like she could do anything!

But here, where it counted, she could do nothing but mourn for Mego and, most likely, one of the twins.

Once sure she wasn't going to fight him again, Ron immediately shifted from in front of her to sitting beside her, pulling the grief stricken heroine into his chest. Kim sunk into him, wrapping her arms around him and embracing the offered comfort as she cried into his shirt. This hurt, it hurt so damn much! She felt like she'd failed them, failed her friends. There was no way she could have seen this coming, and even if she had, she never could have reached Go Tower in time to help them, but no amount of flawless logic could change how she felt. Her friends were dead or at death's door and she couldn't do anything about it or for them. She'd failed to answer their distress call in time, too wrapped up in flaunting her returned greatness against a nobody. That was all there was to it.

She didn't know how long she sat there crying. She ended up falling asleep in her boyfriend's arms, though she doubted she'd stayed that way for too long. She still felt wrecked when the signature four beep tune of her Kimmunicator went off, startling her back to the waking world. Shifting against Ron, she opted to keep herself pressed to him as she raised her wrist and answered the call. "Hey Wade. Have you found anything?"

"Nothing useful." Wade sighed, looking as tired as Kim was as he turned away from his computer, rubbing the bags under his eyes. "I hacked the rescue reports and managed to find some camera feeds still working from outside of the tower. I can confirm that the culprits were only The Mathter, his cronies, Aviarius and Electronique. Only the last two came back out and the rescue operation has found two more bodies dressed like the Mathter. There's still no sign of the Wego twin."

"What about the other two at the hospital?" Kim asked sadly, dropping her head as she took in the news. "Has there been any news on them yet?"

"Publically, no." Wade answered before letting out a loud yawn. "But I did hack the hospital while we've been talking. It looks like Wego is recovering well enough, physically anyway. As for Hego...he's stable." Wade sighed, his relief palpable as he sunk into his chair. A feeling that the two teenage heroes were experiencing themselves. "It looks like he was protected from the bulk of the falling metal. Can't tell you how he survived the collapsing floors though. However..." He added, visibly tensing as he looked over his screen.

"Enough with the suspense routine Wade! What, what?" Ron cried frantically, his own worry taking over as he leaned closer to the screen.

"They had to perform an amputation. His leg was crushed." Wade sighed, turning back to them.

"Oh man." Ron muttered lowly, resting his cheek against Kim's as she tensed again, both of them feeling an all new wave of sympathy and concern for the eldest glow bearer. It was bad enough that he'd lost two of his brothers, there were no words to describe how painful that had to be, but to also lose a literal part of himself, one that could mean the end of his cherished hero career? This was going to crush him all over again.

"What about the villains?" Kim asked, forcing a topic change as she tried to stop her crying. There was nothing she could do for Hego for now, but she could focus on bringing the monsters that did this to justice. "Have you managed to track them down?"

"Oh yeah, the problem is keeping them pinned down." Wade nodded, though the frustrated growl leaving his lips was not very reassuring. "Both Electronique and Aviarius have made multiple appearances, mostly quick bouts of destruction and a few notable robberies, but they're never around for more than a few minutes before they take off and disappear from their pursuers a moment later! I can't track their movements, they're far too wild."

"Revelling in causing more chaos now that they've taken down the city's heroes, the nerve of those two!" Ron snapped, snarling as he looked out toward the city. "It's a statement! They're declaring the city theirs and scaring everyone into submission."

"And until I can figure out a pattern to their movements-"

"You are leaving that to the cops for now!" Another voice demanded, immediately snapping Wade's attention beyond the camera. A moment later, a determined looking Jazz stomped her way into view, force the spluttering genius away from his computer and ripped out the power cord.

"Jazz! I need-"

"Sleep! It's the middle of the night and you're exhausted, stressed and in shock! It's not good for your health to stay up and focused on this any longer, physically or mentally, and you won't find what you're looking for in this state anyway! You've already repeatedly tried to destroy the computer yourself!" Kim had admit, Jazz was scary when she got into a rant, and she couldn't even see her face. "Now go get some rest, let Global Justice handle the tracking, and if they still haven't, you can help them in the morning. Clearly, these villains aren't going anywhere!"

Kim and Ron just sat there and watched in awe as her fellow redhead manhandled the defiant Wade right out of the screen, blatantly ignoring every complaint and argument he made. By the time they'd gotten to the edge of the screen, Jazz had had enough and actually threw him over her shoulder fireman style and walked off and out of the room before Wade could finish crying out.

"So, who do you think would win between her and her brother?" Felix asked lightly as he rolled on screen with Monique in toe not a moment later, offer them a, albeit slightly forced, grin. "That's the third time she's told him to sleep and each confrontation was scarier than the last."

"You look like you need that talk too, Kim." Monique exclaimed, looking worriedly over her BFF.

"At least you two are looking better." Kim muttered, a little relief entering her as she got a good look at their friends. They were both still a little discoloured, but looked far healthier and lively than when they'd left.

"Yeah, we're done blowing chunks." Felix said with a shrug. "We should probably still be in bed, but I'm more concerned with your wellbeing than mine right now." He added, giving up on all attempts at acting light-hearted as his worry broke through. "Guys, I know this sucks, but try to get some rest, ok? You both look completely worn out, have you rested at all since you got back to America? The time zone thing's got to be messing with you."

"A bit. We'll rest until Hego or Wego wake up." Kim conceded, her tone making it clear that that was all she was conceding to. The other three shared looks for a moment before conceding to take what they could get.

"Then find a place to rest and start now." Monique said firmly. "We're gonna turn in now ourselves, but call us if you need us, ok girl? Any time you need to talk, call me."

"I will." Kim nodded gratefully. "Thanks Monique, Felix."

"Night guys." Felix nodded, a smile once again growing on his face. "Sleep well. Oh, and if the temptation becomes too much, make sure you unsupervised lovebirds buy a pack of condoms."

"FELIX!" Everyone within half the airport flinched in pain as three voices screeched at that. Felix just laughed his butt off as Kim abruptly cut the connection, her face just as burning red as Ron's.

"Well, um...now that Wade's out and...everything here's out of our hands, let's find a place to sleep. I mean sleep sleep, not SLEEP, or anything like that." Ron spluttered, only growing more flustered by the second. "Not that I would mind doing that, it's not like I don't think about it sometimes, NOT all the time, but sometimes, but I, um...I'm just gonna shut up now."

"...Yeah, um, let's just go to the hospital." Kim muttered, pulling herself up and looking anywhere but at Ron as her own blush darkened and grew with every word her boyfriend said. "We'll just sleep in the waiting room. In the chairs. Yeah."

Not trusting himself, Ron just hummed his agreement as he followed her out to the street.

Felix would feel proud. His mission was accomplished, both of them were far too busy feeling awkward and embarrassed to stay focused on tragedy and revenge.

They were both going to kill him when they got back to Japan.

...

Spectra had to admit, this little plan had worked out pretty well. Granted, it did cost them a few of their comrades and reminded everyone that there were murderers who cared nothing for their current allies amongst their ranks, so trust had taken a blow, but it had drawn all attention away from Kim Possible's enemies. On top of that, Global Justice was getting involved too, a fact that was actually a boon for their next phase.

With a slight tweak of her own to the plan, Wade and anyone else watching were heavily focused on the surviving duo appearing and disappearing all over the place. It was a simple tactic, a few of Professor Dementor's teleportation devices had been taken into town by some of his cronies in civilian garb, allowing the villains to make a quick scene and escape to do it again. Since they never went outside Go City, no one was suspicious of outside assistance and the city was almost wreaking with fear and negativity. At the rate it was going, Electronique and Aviarius may actually succeed at bringing the city to its knees. When she had a chance, Spectra intended to go and enjoy her new smorgasbord.

But that had to wait for now. For regardless of the reason, the wheels had been set in motion and if the plan didn't progress soon, they'd lose their window entirely. The angst vampire had put up with far too much for this plan to be a flop. As good as Go City was right now, she wanted something bigger and more permanent.

Fortunately, the next part was almost fully prepared. Gemini's men were in position and Professor Dementor's Teleportation Modules were proving to be a complete success in the field. That only left the high powered explosives Drakken was supposed to make. However, seeing as he was currently just a puppet and Spectra couldn't access his scientific skills, she'd resorted to hiding away in a lab pretending to be hard at work with a 'Do Not Disturb' sign up until some of Vlad's vulture ghost minions dropped off the good stuff. Which had given her plenty of time to practice with the magic, silver cutlass.

The ghost had never been exposed to magic before, but she'd found herself loving it. She could feel it humming within the sword, was thrilled by the destruction it could unleash. She could feel greater power within it too, the power to summon spirits. She was so tempted to use it, to feel the rush of forcing others to her side. It was so tempting, but she had to reframe from it. She couldn't control them after all, they were the ghosts of a loyal pirate crew and would only listen to their captain. Still, it was something to think about, it could be useful later.

Her thoughts were drawn away from the blade a moment later, however, as an alert came up on her laptop. Turning her attention to the screen, she felt her smirk grow as a video feed showed the base in Wisconsin being infiltrated by Global Justice agents, only for it to blow up. It was no loss, it had served its purpose. They'd known that their hacking into the Go Tower would probably be discovered and their trail followed, that was the whole point of using that old throwaway base. It had no connections to anyone, being one Vlad's old, long abandoned warehouses, so once it blew up, taking what little evidence it still held with it, not only did it destroy any unnoticed loose ends, but also took out multiple enemy agents. A win-win. On top of that, two more of Gemini's men had reported in, ensuring that they could be ready and unhindered on time. Everything was falling into place right on schedule. Even her own little tweak on the side. She couldn't wait to see look on Plasmius' when he realises what she's done.

That meant it was time to call back everyone in the field. They needed to be rested and ready. After all, once Global Justice fell, everyone would be keen to go after their final target: Kim Possible.

...

Bulma had to admit, the Fentons really had come up with something impressive. The original Bio Ecto-suit, even with that pesky, life draining design flaw, was a work of art. With outer armour made dominantly of Titanium Aluminide and an energy coat designed to buffer from attacks, the suit was near indestructible and it's amplification system may very well have been able work adequately even with Vegeta as the power source and template with just a few tweaks. Its reaction time wouldn't match his, even if he would use such a thing, but it definitely would have provided an overwhelming advantage to anyone who wore it. It was certainly a project worth considering recreating, it could be exactly what she and her friends needed.

But that was for another time. She'd burned enough midnight oil for one night, tomorrow was going to be stressful now that the Team Go tragedy was added to the plate. Shutting down her computer, she let out a loud yawn and stretched out her back as she rose to her feet and headed out the door, stopping to ensure that it was firmly sealed before heading down the hallway toward the elevator. She couldn't be too careful with this room after all.

Bulma went to a lot of trouble to ensure this room's safety and security. It was well below the rest of the building and only accessible from a single elevator with a secret button that required retinal and fingerprint scans to activate. The hallway itself was built to be as durable as a bomb shelter and halfway down it was a constantly generated EMP field, frying any technology active on its way through. The door and room within were even more reinforced with both electrical and heavy locking mechanisms and blocked all radio waves going in or out. Not even her own technology could access so much as the most basic levels of the internet from within. Nothing within could be discovered by the outside world and after she put in all that effort, there was no way in hell she was going to be sloppy with locking up.

Satisfied that it was fully secure, Bulma let out a sigh, headed back up and made a beeline for her own apartment area, thinking dreamily about a bath and her comfy bed. Today had turned out to be stressful before Hego's SOS caused pandemonium and it would all only continue tomorrow, so it was really important to relax now. However, just as she turned on the water and started undressing...

_"Bulma! I'm surprised that you're still up."_

"AAHHHH!" Jumping two feet into the air, Bulma flushed a deep red as her arms snapped her open and falling shirt back her around her chest, whipping her eyes in all directions for the owner of that voice. Not that she didn't know that he was nowhere to be seen, it was mostly out of habit. "Piccolo! Do you mind, I was about to take a bath!"

_"My apologies, I didn't mean to disturb you."_ Piccolo stated, completely unperturbed as she yelled at him. _"I simply noticed that you were still awake and thought I'd give you a few requested messages now."_

"That could have waited until the morning!" Bulma snapped back, yelling up to the sky. Not that she had to, Piccolo's telepathic conversations could be done entirely mentally, something most of the others were fine with when it was one on one communication, but Bulma preferred vocalising her responses. As crazy as it could make her come off as, she felt less like her mind was being invaded this way. "Unless it's something like Vegeta blew up a city again, then there's no need to bother me during my bedtime routine!"

_"True, but seeing as one message is from Vegeta, I thought you'd like to hear it sooner rather than later."_ Piccolo replied, suddenly enticing her curiosity. _"It seems earlier today, his little brother, Tarble, arrived on Earth. Apparently he's been looking for him."_

"What? I didn't even know Vegeta had a brother!" Bulma cried, her tone mixed with both irritation and excitement. "You'd think my husband could have told me I had a brother in law! Oh, I can't wait to see him! I wonder if he's anything like Vegeta or Pasha."

_"You'll have to wait to meet him, I'm afraid. Tarble was looking for Vegeta because he's in desperate need of help. That's why Vegeta asked me to pass on the message, he's taken off for outer space for a week or so."_

"Say WHAT!" Oh, no he didn't! "You're telling me that jackass took off for outer space without so much as a word to his wife! He was supposed to be returning from his training trip tomorrow! You tell him to turn around and explain himself right now or he is a dead man!"

_"It can't be helped now. He's already out of my range."_ Piccolo answered, his sigh audible even through the telepathic link. Bulma just scowled even more at that. Piccolo could decide to contact her while she was about to take a bath, but didn't think to do it when her husband was taking off without the slightest bit of notice? Oh, she was going to strangle the pair of them!_"I heard that! I didn't call earlier because Dende's training was at a very delicate point. I barely had time to get the gist of what Vegeta wanted when he flew by. You know how important and tricky this point in his training is. I couldn't split my focus."_

As much as Bulma wanted to, she couldn't argue with that. Dende was still new to his role as Guardian of the Earth and was very young. Add the fact that he took over the position at a chaotic time and before his training was complete and it only made things more difficult for the young Namekian.

Until recently, no one, not even Dende or Piccolo themselves, could remember why Kami had fused back Piccolo in the first place, a troubling question which was only added to the confusion and struggles suddenly hitting the planet that appeared to have no perceivable source. They just knew something horrible enough came along to make them that desperate, which meant that Dende's training was only put further on the backburner as they tried and failed to find the forgotten, extremely dangerous threat. It was only when Gohan returned from China and starting restoring their memories that they finally recalled the Heartless swarming the Earth and Piccolo's desperate, ultimately defeated, play. Now that the mystery was solved and the force that required such a response was obliterated, Dende's training was in full swing. Which meant that Piccolo and Popo could spend time focusing on some very delicate aspects that Dende should have known and mastered long before taking the position. It was imperative that he learned them as soon as possible and could get very messy if he got them wrong. So what could she do, but concede to the point?

_" The other message is the report from Chiaotzu. He said that it's mostly the same over there, but there's been a demanded increase in activity. They're looking into it and will get back to me as soon as they can."_

Well that dulled Bulma's frustration immediately, quickly replacing it with worry. She hadn't heard anything from the little guy in a while. He couldn't find anything to report on that they didn't already know the last two times he'd made contact. Honestly, it was unnerving Bulma quite a bit.

"Then you better get done with this lesson soon." She replied, letting her sense of foreboding creep into her voice. "If they're speeding up, then we cannot have you stuck on the Lookout much longer. Anyway, thanks for the messages, Piccolo. Let me know when Vegeta's close enough for me to kill him again, will ya?"

_"Of course. Goodnight Bulma." _Sighing as Piccolo's presence left her head once more, Bulma went back to undressing and practically flopped into the bath, forcing her whole body to relax in the wonderfully warm water. She really didn't need to hear any of that. Suddenly a lot of things were happening at once and it had her more than a little nervous. The timing was just too...precise, she guessed. Vegeta leaving Earth when everything was cooking up only made things worse. If things kept going this way, she'd feel a lot better with her husband beside her.

Hopefully Chiaotzu would report it was nothing important. As much as she wished otherwise, they still weren't ready to deal with that. Not just yet.

Soon though, once the network was restored, hopefully they would be.

...

Kim and Ron managed to get in a snooze earlier than they expected. Getting out of the airport took a lot longer than expected and the roads weren't any better. Between the destruction of the villains still coming and going and the panicked people trying to flee the city, getting to the hospital took what felt like a tree's age. For the driver at least, for both Kim and Ron dozed off before they even made it to the main road, leaning against each other in the back.

It wasn't until they were parked in the visitor's entrance that their driver gently shook them awake.

"Wh-wha...?"

"We have arrived, Kimmy dear. Young man." The elder man told them, shifting to wake the stubborn blonde.

"Awww, five more minutes!" Ron groaned, slapping the hand away as he turned over, only to jump wide awake as the dislodged and tumbling redhead retaliated with a jab to the ribs. "AH! I'm up, I'm u-OW!" He cried as his haste had him smacking his head into the ceiling.

"Serves you right." Kim exclaimed, though a fond smile was still on her sleepy face as she accepted the hand offered to her by the driver. "Thanks for the lift, Mr Gregson."

"My pleasure, my dear." The man smiled, pulling her to her feet before moving on to assist the still moaning blonde. "It was the least I could do after you rescued my grandson."

"Aw, that was no big. I do hope he learned to tightened his knots before propelling again though."

"Oh, I triple check his work. He's still trying to figure out how I always know when and where he's going." Mr Gregson laughed, waving goodbye as he moved back to his seat and drove off. Sparing a moment to wave him off, Kim and Ron turned in and made a beeline for the coffee machine, perking themselves up before heading to the reception for their friends' rooms.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that they are currently in a closed off ward. Family only." The receptionist sighed, not even hiding her irritation as she rubbed her temples.

"I see, however, we-"

"Whether or not your friend is a famous hero is no exception!" The receptionist snapped, cutting Ron right off. "Do you know how many people are trying to get in and see them? From reporters to fans, to cops? That pile over there doesn't even represent all of them!" She cried, flinging her hand wildly down a hallway behind her, one that was nearly overflowing with get well and sympathy gifts. "Hego's still in intensive care and the surviving Wego is with him. I realise that this is a hard time for everyone, however they are not currently available to the public and you will respect their privacy and hospital procedure!"

"That's hardly the way to talk to actual friends of the patients who are just trying to get them justice!" Another woman snapped before Kim could, snapping everyone's attention to Kim's left. Striding down the hallway, dressed in her usual combat suit and her signature eye patch was none other than Dr Director herself. The darker woman spent another moment glaring at the scowling receptionist before turning back to the young duo with a much more sympathetic expression than they'd ever seen on her face. "Fortunately, I can debrief you."

"That is in violation of-"

"This is a murder/terrorism case, not simply a medical situation, so I am well within my rights to inform a colleague of the current situation." Dr Director retorted harshly, giving the receptionist one more glare before motioning for Kim and Ron to follow her. And if Ron stuck his tongue out at the rude lady as they went, then the others ignored it.

Walking quickly, Dr Director lead them to a spare meeting room the hospital must have provided her before closing the door behind them. A quick glance of the place showed that she'd been there for a little while. A few coffee cups were scattered around two piles of notes and an active laptop.

"I assumed that this would be the first place I'd find you." Dr Director said, shaking Kim's hand before offering them seats, taking the one opposite them.

"I'm surprised that Global Justice is involved. Let alone you coming here yourself." Kim mused, raising a curious eyebrow.

"While Team Go was a simple city team and their...characters didn't strike them as all that noteworthy, their ties to Shego and their powers were another matter entirely. Especially seeing as Aviarius discovered how to take them for others. Imagine if someone evil and competent got a hold of all their abilities?

"Which is precisely what we believe has happened." She sighed grimly, hitting a few keys on the laptop before turning it to them. "It was quite the challenge, but my tech support managed to hack the hacker who infiltrated Go Tower's security."

Turning their attention to the screen, Kim and Ron tried to not to cry as they watched the feed. Two videos were up, one showing the main room as Electronique and Aviarius attacked and another showing them coming up to the dead bodies of Wegos. They watched, horrified, as Aviarius raised his staff and stole their powers. A scene that was even more traumatizing as both Wegos quickly turned to dust during the process.

"At this point, I must inform you not to worry about Wego. Both victims were only clones." Dr Director stated quickly, mentally kicking herself for not mentioning it sooner.

"But the news said-"

"As it turns out, only one Wego was ever real." Dr Director interrupted Ron. "I have spoken to the cloner. He gained his power before he could walk and, being significantly younger than his siblings, created a duplicate to play with. He simply grew up with a clone always by his side. How the lack of birth records wasn't noticed remains a mystery. That's why they both deteriorated. Without their power, they don't last long and when they're dead, they fade even sooner. When he's ready, Wego can recreate it."

"Well, that's...something the town should be told soon." Kim muttered, wiping tears away as she leaned into Ron again. "It's bad enough that one hero...died."

"The report will be released within the hour, along with the released updates on Hego's condition." Dr Director confirmed, pulling the laptop back. "He is stabilising nicely, by the way. He's in quarantine for the moment, to make sure nothing infects him in his highly vulnerable state, but it is believed that he is in the clear, so long as nothing interrupts his recovery. Wego is keeping vigil through the glass. His physical ailments were relatively minor, so he placed himself as his brother's guard against the wishes of the doctors. Personally, I think he should rest, but with his power and only one way into that reinforced area of the hospital, it should discourage any attempts at finishing off Hego, or at least hold them off while the guards here and around the hospital respond.

"But now, we need to get down to the real business." She went on, bringing up another video to show the teens. This one depicted The Mathter and his men setting up what looked like loose marble bags before taking off, only for them to fall and release countless blue orbs. All of which, dug effortlessly through the floor and pillars wherever they fell. The screens went blank long before The Mathter and his screaming men escaped. "As you can see, the Mathter's Decimal Point balls were the cause of the tower's collapse. All of them were unleashed by Electronique causing explosions and rocking the building. Without any care for her allies inside."

"She willingly killed her own people?" Ron cried, jumping to his feet as he swung his arms around wildly, caught between shock, disbelief and outrage. "That's...that's just...so sick and wrong!"

"It is." Dr Director nodded. "And she's shown no remorse for it either. To this moment, I'm still getting reports of her and Aviarius appearing and disappearing on and off all over the city, stealing and destroying everything in sight. However, even though acquiring two glow powers is enough to maintain our concern, that alone isn't why they are currently deemed high enough level threats for Global Justice's constant pursuit."

"Two?" Kim frowned confusedly, resetting the previous video recordings. "But the footage shows them getting three."

"Technically, they got two and a piece." Dr Director replied, motioning to the video of Wego. "Wego's clones have and are capable of using his power, however, it is a mere fraction of the whole red glow, limited without the source, and dissipates quickly should the clone die. Wego is confident that without him to recharge it, Aviarius will only be able to use it for a moment or two, if his new crystal can even maintain the power. We're lucky there, the duplication of the other powers is what makes the users a world level threat. It's another reason why we convinced the doctors to let Wego stand guard over Hego's room. He's better protected from Aviarius there, behind the other guards distributed by the local authorities and my men.

"Which is why the other aspects of this situation are of more concern than Aviarius." Dr Director went on, taking the laptop back. "Including the details concerning our enemy hacker. This incident is much bigger than it appears, Miss Possible."

"Wade couldn't get anything from Go Tower's systems...before it came down." Kim stated, tensing as she straightened herself up, crossing her arms on the table. "All I know has come from news reports and hacked city security cameras. But Wade did mention how erratic both Villains' movements have been." She added thoughtfully, biting her lip. "They also steal, yet they get away quickly and no one sees the loot again, and you mentioned a hacker. There are more people involved in this, helping them, aren't there?"

"Yes." Dr Director confirmed, her voice turning heavy as she continued her work. "Team Go's villains have never once shown any sign of their ability to cooperate with each other and yet, even now, after their supposed job is done, they are both doing the same thing, maintaining our attention on the two of them. It was clear from the start that someone was organising them, even without discovering a hacker in Go Tower's systems. But it's the hacker themselves that have revealed the real threat to us. The first, and possibly most disturbing sign, is this."

Turning the laptop back to the teens, she hit play on a freeze frame picture of the moment right before Electronique's electric attack could hit Hego "This is all we saw at standard speed. However, when we went through individual frames...we discovered this." Clicking a button, she brought up another picture, one absolutely identical to the first one. However, in this one, right where Dr Director was tapping the screen with a pen, depicted Hego glowing.

That itself was hardly unusual. Except it wasn't a blue glow. It was acid green. And his eyes were glowing red.

"What the heck is going on with him?" Ron cried, eyes wide and leaning over Kim for a better look. "That's not his colour! It's not even Shego's green! And the eyes!"

"It's the signs of possession." Kim cried, her jaw dropping at the sight as memories of Danny doing the same thing came to the surface. "Hego was overshadowed."

"The glow only lasts for a tenth of a second. It was sheer luck that we caught it." Dr Director informed them, closing the laptop. "We believe that this was the moment the ghost made its escape. Probably to not risk being affected by the pain of its host. It would also explain why Hego never tried to fight the invaders. Instead, he immediately-"

"Called my website." Kim gasped, staring onward in disbelief. "If what you're saying is true, then they wanted me involved here."

"A good theory, but are you sure?" Ron asked sceptically, crossing his arms as he leaned back. "I mean, we've been here a while now, asleep I might add, and they haven't made a move on us yet. Maybe he possessed Hego to try and stop us from coming?"

"That would have already been pointless." Dr Director answered with a raised eyebrow. "You were already communicating. On top of that, while everything else was hacked, Hego was still completely free to call you until after he'd gotten his message through. But the biggest suggestion is where we traced the hack back to."

"Which was where?" Kim asked, dreading the answer.

"To a warehouse in Wisconsin. It was long abandoned, but its last owner was Vlad Masters." Dr Director answered, freezing the air in both teens' lungs. "As such, there is a possibility that he is the mastermind in all of this. Though whether he has returned or has left instructions his associates are only now initiating is yet to be determined. Either way and for whatever reason, it is most likely the working of a ghost that drew you into this city while Team Go's enemies are being used to cover their involvement. Which means, they're most likely coming after you next."

That was probably the absolute last thing Kim wanted to hear. She'd never faced him herself, but everyone knew of Vlad Masters, aka Vlad Plasmius, the deadly powerful ghost hybrid. He'd at one point held the entire world hostage, forcing them to accept him as their ruler or let the world be destroyed, a situation it turned out, that he couldn't even stop.

After the asteroid debacle was dealt with and Danny revealed his secret to the world, he also revealed all the data he had on Vlad to the world, making everyone very aware of his power and ruthlessness. As a Valour Guardian, Kim had gained even more detailed information on his history and powers than the general public and, to put it simply, the idea of going up against someone so powerful and cruel was terror inducing.

She hoped that Dr Director was wrong. There was still some room to doubt it after all. There had been no sign of Vlad returning to Earth from his botched space mission in well over a year. On top of that, Kim Possible and Team Go had never had anything to do with him, nor were they in his league. There wasn't a single reason she could think of for him to target them. Though, unless one of her enemies had been executed without her knowledge, she could say that about every ghost. The only one she remembered fighting was the Fright Knight and he wouldn't resort to this.

So yes, there was plenty of room for hope. Global Justice was wrong. They had to be.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Second Wave**

It wasn't often that anyone got to enjoy peace and quiet around Capsule Corp. Between the countless experiments, the manufacturing of numerous types of vehicles and machines, most of which were a bit beyond their time, various business associates and the crazy aliens that lived within or frequently visited the town sized building, a quiet moment was near impossible. After 8am, anyway.

It was one of the many reasons that made Henry so grateful that he was an early riser. Few would believe him, but the place was actually nice and quiet at six in the morning. Walking through the hall or out onto their living area's balcony, letting the wind caress his skin, enjoying the view of both Capsule Corp's well kept estate and public park beyond it, it was such a nice, relaxing way to start what would no doubt be a noisy, chaotic day. Or, in this case, a stressful one.

Taking a seat in his favourite chair, Henry couldn't help but sigh, feeling a bit of anxiety already settling in. It was still thick in the air after yesterday. The call for help, Go Tower falling, the confirmed deaths, the way Kim freaked over the communicator and everyone's frantic worrying and searches for information since, it was like the entire place had been drenched in stress, fear and desperation. Even those who had no clue what was going on could feel it and opted to stay away.

"I really hope Team Possible manages to sleep in." He muttered to himself as he watched the sky slowly turning pink in the horizon. While he had maintained his usual sleep schedule, he was well aware that just about all of the others had been up most of the night, for one reason or another, even the two who should have just slept through their sick stomachs. They all had to be exhausted. Besides, the longer they slept, the more likely there'd be more, and hopefully better, news when they did dive back into it.

He felt for them, he really did. It was always a horrible feeling, losing people you care about so violently and being so powerless to stop it. It can be even worse when you thought about those who survived the ordeal. Not only do they have to go through losing their brothers, one of their powers and a leg too in Hego's case, the villains who did it were still out there going wild. The fact that they were failing to even stop them, to prevent them from finishing what they started, that Hego and Wego were both grieving and still in huge danger...that was what was eating Team Possible the most. Sadness and the feeling of failing their friends twice over. Henry wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Sighing sadly again, he closed his eyes and drew up his legs, crossing them as he took a few deep, slow breaths. Meditation was usually good for this sort of thing. Though, this time, he only slowly grew more frustrated with himself. Though he'd been doing it for years, Henry was no master at the art. High stress and frustrating situations tended to get the best of him, his thoughts refusing to shut up. If anything, the silence and the attempts were only giving his mind more opportunities to fret over his new friends.

Growling softly, he gave up not ten minutes later, pulled himself straight up to his feet and headed back inside, toward the lab. If clearing his mind wasn't an option then he'd resort to a distraction for as long as he could. They were planning to make the initial base for their new prototype battle suit today, so he could always get a start on the first small components. They were delicate, they'd require his complete focus. In other words, it was the perfect distraction or it would be the perfect disaster when he was done with it, but he was pretty sure he could do it. His issue was sympathy based, not moral or personal conflict, so working on technology should be able to drown it out for an hour or two.

However, that was forgotten as a low beep came from his pocket. Blinking in surprise, a small grin lit up Henry's face as his hand dived in and pulled out a device just small enough to fit in his hand. It was an oddly shaped, white machine, looking like someone tried to make a T around a circle. At the top and in the centre, a green ring surrounded a square screen, black colouring the area in between the two, while at the bottom was a large, white, circular button with two, small green, ovular shaped ones cutting into its sides. It also appeared to have a card reader built into the side and a USB port hidden on the top, right before it was attached to a green band and clip.

Taking note of the alert flashing across the screen, Henry held down the big button, immediately bringing the screen to life. Within a second, light exploded from and took the form of a circular hologram, depicting a great deal of data. Most notably was the picture of Ryo in the middle with 'Location Identified' written in bold letters underneath it.

His grin turning into a full smile, Henry looked over the information before shutting it down and upping his pace toward the lab. He wanted to make sure that he was there when Kim called Wade next. It was in no way going to help her situation, but he was sure Kim would like a little good news when next she called.

Once this was all taken care of, as soon as she was ready, he could reintroduce her to Ryo.

...

Vlad's hidden lair hadn't looked this busy since before he'd left for space. Though he currently had no visitors, there seemed to be movement wherever you looked, be it from the flickering lights of rapidly changing screens or the movements of the four Vlads.

The hard work had really begun now. Every player on the board was now active and every aspect needed to be monitored carefully. Now that the attacks had begun, it would take a lot less to send aspects off the rails. The results of missteps varied from inconsequential, down a very steep path to catastrophic, especially with so many critical thinkers and avenues being exploited. Every deviation caused by this attack and every shred of data his enemies acquired from it needed to be accounted for as best he could, preferably right down to the letter.

Something he apparently needed to keep in mind even when considering his own subordinates!

"Be smug now, you infernal woman! I will be repaying you for this little stunt." He grumbled under his breath, glaring viciously as he watched 'Drakken' preparing for their next move while his clone scowled at the image of Dr Director debriefing Kim. Spectra's little stunt had come right out of left field for him. While he knew that she was a snake in the grass and had pointedly threatened him repeatedly, he had thought that she was enticed well enough to simply follow the plan, but clearly he'd well overestimated his grip on her loyalty. He hadn't known or cared where she had their secondary base set up, it was a minor detail that had meant nothing, so he never bothered to get an answer. So imagine the grief he felt running through his veins when he realised that the scapegoat headquarters was one of his buildings!

Then there was the captured shot! He knew for a fact that Bertrand was far more talented than that. He could have easily fled the body without a single flicker of evidence, yet here he was, doing a full body display for an organisation with a reputation for heavily scrutinising every piece of evidence they obtained. He was putting on a show for the damn spies! And seeing as Vlad couldn't get any access within Global Justice's walls, he was only finding out now, while Kim was being informed of this! It was already far too late to circumvent it, every one of their still living enemies would know of the ghostly involvement and his own possible return within the hour! Which, thanks to Bulma's little scheme, now involved the Fentons and provided access to ghost tech. His safety was now in jeopardy.

This was a warning from Spectra. If she didn't get what she wanted, neither would he. The plan had to be a success now, otherwise it would lead back to him far too quickly for him to save himself.

After all his declarations about abandoning his arrogance and not underestimating his enemies, he went and did exactly that with an underling he knew not to trust from the start. He wasn't sure who he wanted to kick more for this, Spectra or himself.

"Her. I will kick her." Vlad swore, his eyes glowing with fury for a moment before forcing himself to calm down with a sigh. He could and would deal with this. Yes, it was troubling, but his return was far from proven, merely suspected. This didn't alter the most important part of the plan and once that part succeeded, even if his return was discovered, he himself would never be found until it's too late. So, with that in mind, Vlad set himself back to work, taking great care to monitor every detail that had resulted from the first wave.

Wade still wasn't much of an issue. He was already up and working on his tablet, hiding away from Jazz no doubt, but his focus was still planted firmly on Go City. The data on Kim's own enemies weren't even being touched and he had yet to be informed of the ghost aiding their enemies. However, changes to his thought patterns tended to come suddenly, so constant surveillance was still a necessity.

Hego had yet to awaken and Wego was by his side, well behind a large number of guards. That represented another irritation. It was another slipup that he hadn't accounted for. Team Go's villains were supposed to have every member of Team Go accounted for before throwing everyone else into a panic. However, despite being well aware of his power, they'd failed to respond adequately and lost their chance to steal the red glow. That was a significant blow. It wasn't a fatal one, but it certainly took a great deal of raw power away from them that could have guaranteed a victory, in more ways than one, not the least being Vlad taking the staff and all the glow powers himself, combining them with his own powers and becoming near invincible. But alas, that end result was currently beyond them. It would have to wait for another day.

Then, of course, there was Kim and Ron. Tracking them had been simple and neither of them was in a position to cause much trouble, but it was still worth it. It was imperative that he maintained knowledge, circumstances and the location of his pawns' desired target at all times and now the added benefit of allowing him to locate and spy on the head of Global Justice herself! This had, in turn, revealed to him just how close his secret was to being discovered and reprimanded him for not watching Spectra more closely.

Which brought up the next set of monitors he and his clones were overlooking. He was not taking any chances with her, Bertrand or any of the others from now on. Drakken's security system was being put through its paces as Vlad made sure every villain was accounted for at all times. If anyone so much as blinked funny, he was going to catch it. Furthermore, the spybots he'd sent there were forever locked on Spectra and Bertrand. If they tried another stunt against him, Vlad would know immediately and take them down himself.

The agents flooding Go City and Wisconsin were particularly tricky to keep track of. They were everywhere and since he had no way of accessing their gathered information, he was forced to watch different groups randomly. Though he wasn't too worried about most of them, only the Wisconsin team was of major note. They were actually close to his location, pinning him in. Another clear sign of Spectra's threats.

It still wasn't a significant issue yet, however. His base was deep underground and off the grid. While it was possible that Global Justice would notice it, by the time they did, it would be too late. They'd never reach it, let alone find him, before the next attack changed everything. As such, he was far more interested in circumstances coming to light back in Japan. Adding multiple spy bots after the first one got fried was a little risky, but had paid off oh, so well. He'd had one clone monitoring the feed from the bot sent after Bulma after she left her secret room, hoping to gleam what was so important down there, which had instead caught her seemingly talking to herself. Realising quickly enough that she was actually talking to Piccolo, his clone had recorded the entire conversation and Vlad almost cried with joy. He had to send another spy bot to Earth's secret Lookout, home to the Guardian of the Earth, and had another clone seeking out the others for confirmation, but both clones searching laughed immediately as what they heard was proven right on the money. Vlad's satellite caught a spaceship come and leave Earth, and Vegeta was nowhere to found. The video coming back from the Lookout showed the two Namekians performing some sort of training, while audio feeds confirmed Piccolo saying that it was still going to take days of constant effort, effort that they could not afford to break until they had completed whatever the child was being taught. To finish it off, his spying around the world had his clones also quickly confirming that Gohan had arrived at the Xiaolin Temple, much to Vlad's dismay, and Videl was on the other side of the country for the grand opening of one of her father's new hotels. For the first time in who knew how many years, Capsule Corp wasn't protected by any of the Z Fighters.

Then there was the screen depicting the video feed from his other spy bot. This one depicted Henry, looking at his handheld device. And this time Vlad really did cry tears of joy.

"This couldn't be more perfect!" He cheered, jumping to his feet and beaming at his equally happy and sneering clones. "Global Justice is about to go down, Capsule Corp is practically defenceless, Henry Wong has discovered the location of Ryo Akiyama and right down the hall from him is the perfect bait to have Kim Possible run right into my villainous army and her doom. With one attack, everything will fall into place!"

"And with a prize like Capsule Corp's technology added as the spoils of victory, convincing our pawns to end it there will be child's play." A clone gloated as the others chuckled. "On top of that, without Capsule Corp, what remains of the network the goody two-shoes will have also lost the majority of their scientific and technological resources."

"And for the icing on the cake, when the Z Fighters inevitably come for revenge, it'll be on those fools. They'll never have a clue I was involved." Another clone laughed, quickly being followed by the others.

Letting his clones go back to monitor duty, and creating a few more to assist, Vlad turned his dark, eager smirk back to his screens and set to work, bringing up Capsule Corp's schematics and security systems, along with the data he had on all of his gathered allies' talents and abilities. This was the perfect place to for their final phase. This would have so many repercussions, both for the heroes' network and the world in general. It should even add further security for his secret, the added publicity of such a company going down and supplying villains worldwide would only further sate Spectra, further ensuring their deal.

He could not imagine any situation more perfect than this. Victory at a level he hadn't even imagined was going to be his.

...

Electronique was having the time of her life. Everywhere she went was filled with fear, destruction and chaos. The city was crumbling with every stop she made. A bank here and there, stealing some money for herself and burning the rest, crippling the economy. A few petrol stations all around town, causing mass damage with fiery explosions. She even sent a superpowered wrecking ball right through Town Hall and electrocuted everything swimming in the harbor. With the help of Dementor's men to get around town and gain frequent access to her array of enhanced, weaponised gadgets, she was decimating the city. The police and assisting Global Justice agents couldn't keep up with her, their vehicles merely becoming her last targets before she disappeared again. It was glorious! At the rate she was going, Go City would crumble to the ground before this day was through.

"Where are your heroes now, Go City?" Her cackles echoed throughout the area even as she had some hijacked trucks plough through a multistorey building, eclipsing the thunderous crashes and elicited screams. She only laughed louder as the upper levels of the building started leaning sideways, crashing into its neighbour and leaving it leaning precariously.

Taking a few more seconds to toss a pair of enhanced electro magnets, she cackled again as they attached to a pair of police cars and activated, slamming them into each other, before conceding to making an exit. While she had no fear of a few cops, her escape route would only stick around for so long and she'd rather not get cornered before she was ready.

Sending one last electrical blast of her own at a van between her and another cop car, she gave the men and women within a smug sneer and took off down a chain of tight alley ways, snagging a discarded hoodie to throw over her head along the way. By the time the cops even made it to the alley entrance, she was well out of sight.

Two left turns, a right and another left later, only stopping to avoid the piled up trash and grime, she made a beeline for another entrance to the main road only to make an abrupt turn and fling open a door to the right ten feet before it and step into the back of a bakery.

The place was nothing noteworthy, just one of the many shop, apartment complexes that connected to the alleyway, and was long abandoned. This wasn't Electronique's first attack on this part of the city today after all and the majority of the civilians were trying to flee the entire thing. It was just one in a couple dozen of places that she could run to, but could also still hold one or two scared citizens. Which made it perfect for her rendezvous point.

"About time you arrived." Electronique just scowled in response as a man stepped out of a cupboard. She had no tolerance for anyone giving her lip, especially from someone who was no more than one of Dementor's little cookie cutter flunkies.

She only grew more annoyed with him as he ignored her displeasure entirely. Walking right passed her, he took out a white device and set it down next to the phone. It blended in pretty well there, it was shaped similarly to the mouth and ear piece of the olden day phones and even had the old, circular dial in the middle of it, with a more modern looking knob and buttons on either side. No doubt it was designed after what people in the seventies or eighties thought would be the phone of the future. Something that seemed even more likely as the minion in civies attached its adapter to the phone line.

"The call's come to head in." He stated, not even bothering to look at the temperamental, electrical villain as he set up. "The military's heading into the city and the next attack is about to begin."

"I don't care for any of it!" Electronique snapped, ripping the actual phone from the surprised minion's hand before he could finish dialling. "I only care about getting revenge on this city and am staying right here to do just that!"

"But the plan-"

"I have done my part for the plan!" She snarled, charging electricity into her hand as she held it up in her associate's face. "Your teleporter can now take larger, inanimate objects safely along with the person, thanks to me, can they not? You simpletons can take care of Global Justice without me now and I care even less about some teenage upstarts than I do about spending a moment longer in your little alliance. Feel free to go after some little girl all you like. I'm going to finish what I started, regardless of whether your moron boss and the blue idiot like it! Now move aside!"

Glaring, but unable to do much more as she threateningly waved her electrified hand before him again, the minion conceded and backed off, leaving Electronique free to set the teleportation module and make her next call. Waiting just long enough for an answering machine to kick in, she hit the button and was gone in a flash, leaving the minion to do as he pleased.

Appearing little more than a second later in an office building across town, Electronique took a moment to just stand there and get her bearings. Teleporting through the phone lines was such a convenient and thrilling rush, she definitely had to make a teleporter of her own, but it was a little disconcerting on the body. Taking a few deep breaths as she moseyed over to the window, she decided to take a few more minutes to appreciate the disaster she'd helped create. Smoke, fires, damaged and fallen buildings, people running and screaming everywhere you looked. It was hard to believe that it was all caused by her and the pea-brained, bird fanatic. Nowhere had been spared. It was perfectly magnificent.

Well, almost.

Turning to the other side of the building, Electronique narrowed her eyes in spite as she focused on the hospital. The place had been left untouched, not out of any form of sympathy or lingering morality, but because security guards, cops and Global Justice alike were heavily guarding the area. Dementor's minions had mostly been in control of where everyone went and if she wanted to continue using their teleporters, she had to concede to them and they were following a simple, but effective strategy to the letter. They'd hide amongst the crowd, dressed in normal clothes, meet up with one of the villains at predetermined locations when things got hot, use the device to teleport them to a safe location to rampage again and then disappear into crowds once more where they'd pass their teleportation device to another minion hidden within the masses. It was all planned to keep everyone involved from be caught and apprehended. That meant that they had orders to not let any of them get near places like police stations or the well protected hospital, where they were more likely to be caught. And away from Electronique's most desired targets.

There, within those walls, were two still living members of Team Go and that was two too many. She didn't care that one was powerless or that Drakken wanted her to stay far away from those who might luck out and capture her. She was going to finish what she started. Hego and Wego were going to die by her hands, even if it was the last thing she ever did.

...

_"Nothing short of anarchy could describe the state that Go City has fallen into. Since the fall of Go Tower, notorious villains, Aviarius and Electronique, have gone on and continued an escalating rampage throughout the city. The collateral damage is enormous, ranging from raging fires to collapsing buildings to vehicles mowing down civilians._

_"Furthermore, the people's panic is only creating greater problems as everyone is trying to flee the city. Erratic behaviour has already resulted in a number of car accidents and tramplings, only making the police and newly arriving military's attempts to follow and apprehend our city's greatest villains an even more seemingly impossible effort. _

_"It also appears that the situation has encouraged other members of the city's criminal activity."_ The reporter continued as the footage flipped rapidly from the villains' attacks and resulting mobs, to people breaking store windows and looting at gun point. She continued commenting on the situation, but Kim had gone deaf to it, simply staring as all the carnage appeared and disappeared from the screen.

The city was looking more and more like a post apocalyptic catastrophe by the minute, yet she wasn't doing a thing about it and it was driving her insane. She saw the point Dr Director and Ron made, as it stood she couldn't reach the villains before they fled the area. Even plane and helicopter attempts were being avoided or shot down, in the event that the villains didn't just suddenly disappear to another corner of the city. Until it could be determined how they were moving so dramatically or where they might appear next, there wasn't much anyone could do. Police and GJ agents were spread throughout the city, waiting in case the next strike came to their area, but they were spread too thin at the moment to do much against their superpowered foes. They couldn't properly protect the citizens, much less hold the villains in place and all attempts to follow their escapes proved fruitless.

Until they figured out how they got from one place to another, it was unlikely anyone was going to get anywhere with them.

_'Hopefully the military will be helpful enough.'_ She mused, watching as a armoured truck drove down the street. Why they were only arriving in the last ten minutes, Kim would never know.

"You know, staring at that screen isn't going to get you anywhere." Ron commented, drawing her attention as he came back into the room, offering her a cup of coffee. Smiling gratefully, or at least trying to, she took the cup and let him guide her face away from the screen for a kiss.

"I know, but what else can I do?" She asked, earning a conceding sigh of defeat as she took a sip, resting her head on Ron's shoulder as he sat down. "I can break down and cry, I can tire myself out chasing people possibly trying to draw me out and kill me next or I can try to find some kind of pattern or action onscreen to figure out how and where they're doing what they're doing. Since you put your foot down on the second option, I'm choosing the third."

"You could choose the fourth option. Rest." Ron pointed out, wrapping his free arm around her back, though he followed her line of sight to the TV anyway. "You haven't slept enough yet and what could you possibly...HOLY CRAP! I know that!"

"WHAA! Ron! Know what?" Kim cried, floundering and barely stopping herself from falling to the floor as Ron abruptly jumped back to his feet, his eyes wide as he pointed at it.

"In the background, big burly men!" The blonde exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"There are none! That's a SWAT van!"

"Not now, before that!" Ron exclaimed exasperatedly, startling Kim again as he grabbed her wrist and activated her Kimmunicator. "Wade, I need you to check the phone lines, STAT!"

"W-what? Why?" Wade flailed even more wildly than Kim as his face appeared, his wide eyes taking up the whole screen as it shook. No doubt, he'd almost thrown his tablet when Ron's up close mug appeared on it. However, despite how confused and out of it he looked, he still immediately opened a laptop next to his bed.

"Check for anything screwy in the Go City phone lines! I think I saw Dementor's telephone teleport doohickie!" The results of Ron's answer was immediate, both Wade and Kim going tense, their eyes widening with recognition as Wade's fingers flew across his keyboard.

"Professor Dementor's teleportation module? That would explain how they're getting around so fast." Kim said, biting her lips as she added more dots together. "Which means, either they stole a new, rebuilt model or..."

"Professor Dementor's involved too." Wade finished for her, never looking up from his screen.

"There would have to be more than one at play." Dr Director added grimly as she re-entered the room, just now returning from her eleventh inspection of the hospital security. "Both villains are frequently appearing and disappearing from notable distances from each other and causing far too much damage for anyone to travel quickly. The city must be harbouring multiple allies and teleporters hiding in the masses. At least a dozen."

"Oh great, more bad news." Ron groaned, smacking his face. "Is anything going our way?"

"Actually, yes!" Wade exclaimed, looking up triumphantly. "I've hacked in and you're right, Ron. Go City's phone lines have had erratic surges never before seen ever since Go Tower went down. With this, I can track where they're going with ease!"

"And if we shut down the phone lines, they won't be able to escape." Dr Director added, already making the call. "Brilliant work Team Possible! Wade, track the last exit points of both villains and monitor it until the line's shut down. I'll have my team check for any surges coming to and from the Wisconsin warehouse. If that was their escape method, then we can use their outpoint to discover the rest of this group's location and lock them out of the lines too. We've got them now."

"Already on it." Wade grinned, not even typing anymore as he checked over his screen. "Aviarius is still in the main square, as I'm sure you know. As for Electronique, it looks like she just teleported...

"Maybe a block from the hospital?" Ron asked, his voice going soft drawing the others' attention. The blonde Monkey Master's body was lax, but shaking and his eyes were wide and nervous. He wasn't looking at any of them.

"...About three actually." Wade confirmed, his tone expressing all the worry Kim felt. "How'd you guess?"

"Because she's on TV." Was Ron's simple response. Following his finger as he pointed, the others looked up to the screen to see Electronique strutting her way right up to the hospital, three of its guards already charred and smoking. No one watching even had time to react, for at that moment, she raised an altered megaphone to her lips and unleashed a scream that violently shattered every window before her.

"AAAHHHHHH!"

"ARRGHHHH!" And risked blowing every eardrum within. Including Kim's, Ron's and Dr Director's.

...

"Sir, we got a report back from Go City." One of Drakken's thugs shouted, drawing everyone's attention. It wasn't a hard thing to do right now, surprisingly enough. Everything had been going to according plan perfectly, silencing Drakken's doubters and everyone else was keenly waiting for their part or the fireworks of the next attack. That is, until this thug started yelling, drawing everyone's attention. You could tell from his voice alone that Spectra wasn't going to like what he had to say. "I'm afraid Electronique's gone off book and refused to leave. Instead, she's attacking the hospital."

"WHAT?" Spectra screeched, forcing most of the others to flinch as she stormed over to and activated a monitor. Sure enough, it turned on just in time to watch the electrical nut job's scream shatter countless windows and leave every guard and spy coming to meet her flying back to the ground screaming in agony with their hands clasped over their bleeding ears. If they were still alive, that is. A number of them died instantly.

"Aviarius also has yet to go to the next rendezvous point." The thug added hesitantly, shrinking in his seat. "He should have arrived five minutes ago."

"Damn those idiots!" Spectra roared, slamming her fist into the console so hard that it left a dent. A fact that did not go unnoticed by her cohorts, however, she completely ignored it. Electronique and Aviarius, now that he had Team Go's powers, were the most powerful members of the alliance. They were meant to assist evening the playing field with Ron Stoppable, not to mention anyone else who assisted the teen hero, and ensure their victory. With both of them gone, their chances of success plummeted.

Then there was the fact that those two knew too much. If they were caught and blabbed too soon, it could ruin everything!

Well, that was not going to happen. "Dementor, if your men can't grab both of those idiots, at least make sure they get Aviarius! We did not help him restore that crystal just for him to let Kim Possible get the glow powers back. Everyone else, let's get to it! We need phase two finished before those deserters allow Global Justice to get wind of it!"

No one wasted time retaliating to being ordered around, for the first time ever surprisingly enough. Even Gemini and Dementor just grumbled under their breaths as they got to work, ensuring all twenty minions that were about to depart had a bomb in one hand and a newly completed, Electronique upgraded teleportation module in the other before Drakken's minions hooked up their own teleporters and sent signals to begin calls. Within minutes, their texts were answered by ringing phones and they were motioning Gemini's men forward, teleporting them off to their targets, the frequent flashes of electrical light and deep, evil laughs making Drakken's dark, gloomy lair, for the first time ever, truly look like a place of true horror.

...

There was little more than pain making it through Kim's mind. Mind splitting, excruciating pain. It blanked out her world, consuming her. When her mind did actually start to push past it, all she got for her efforts was the awareness of loud, constant, shrieking ring in her ears, rebounding and echoing through her head and tweaking the constant pain she already felt into waves ricocheting through her skull.

She couldn't think at all, could barely register that her own hands were covering her ears or the deep breaths working her lungs. She was so out of it that she couldn't even tell that someone was shaking her for a good two minutes.

"KKKiiii! mmmmm! Kiiiiiimmmm! KIM!" Snapping her eyes open as her name finally made it through the ringing, Kim just stared blearily for another few moments as she re-established her visual understanding. Green and black blurs slowly cleared up to reveal Ron's pants and shoes respectively, his scared, pale face swimming into view above them. Ok, that meant that she'd fallen to the ground. Yes, she was curled up on her side, holding her ears while something warm was pooling into her left hand. Forcing it away, she quickly recognised the red liquid as blood, though where it was coming from, she wasn't sure. Was it her ear? Did she hit her head on the way down? That would explain the pain, though not the ringing. No, that was caused by...

"Oh God!" Blood running cold as her clarity snapped back into place, Kim almost threw herself back to her feet, stumbling into an equally pained and horrified looking Ron as a result as the vertigo struck hard. "Electronique...the patients! How could she? This is a-"

"Hospital with a number of still living injured people stuck in the crossfire." Dr Director broke in gruffly, already forcing herself to her feet and stumbling out the door as she reached for communicator. "All units, converge on the hospital! Code red! Deadly sonic attacks in use! Neutralise the sound device and move as many civilians out of harm's way as possible immediately!"

"Come on! Let's..." Kim gasped, stumbling against the table as she made her way toward the exit, forcing herself to ignore her flinching at the sound of her own voice.

"No way!" Ron however, wouldn't have any of it, snagging her arm before she could take her third step and forcing her to sit down. Ignoring her spluttered outcries as held her in place with one hand, he used the other to wipe the blood from her head, checking for injuries. "Kim, stop! You can't even walk right now, if you go out there-"

"We'll die in here if we can't stop that bitch!" Kim snapped, glaring fiercely right into his eyes. "And so will everyone one else if we can't stop that screech from happening again!"

"I know, KP, I know." Ron grunted, biting his lip, struggling to contain himself as he continued wiping blood from her face. "But if you can't even stand, then you'll just get in the way and get more people killed! Wait, ok? Just until you're steady on your own feet."

"I'm already steady enough!" Fed up, she slapped his hand away before swinging her leg around his shoulders and spun herself into a roll behind him before charging out the door, completely ignoring the yelling behind her. She could stand on her feet, she was steady enough to get there. She was going to help, damn it!

Ron would be there too, she knew it. He wouldn't let her go alone, he'd follow and help her. It would be fine, she'd be fine.

She wasn't going to let any else get hurt. She was going to take the murderous harpy down.

...

Electronique was easy enough to find. Honestly, none of her plans had ever been this easy. Global Justice itself was all around her, but they were child's play. Her first sonic scream had decimated the entire front of the hospital, killing everyone within the area, if not instantly then messily as the exploding glass crashed into them, and left countless more in serious conditions. The fact that most of them were doctors, nurses or already sick and injured patients only put icing on the cake. It again diminished the amount of opposition as she strutted down the halls, half of the agents coming from within ignoring her entirely in attempts to save the casualties. The rest were still injured themselves for the most part, leaving them easy prey for her electrical blasts. Which just left more helpless or dead casualties for the next load of GJ agents to fuss about.

Chuckling to herself as she had her body surge right as a spy tried dropping on her from an air vent, leaving him flying away twitching and charred, she made her way right up to a reception desk and fired lightning around either side of it, trapping the injured, trembling woman within.

"Listen up, pretty, because I'm only going to say this once." She stated, snagging the front of the receptionist's scrubs and yanking her right into Electronique's face, enjoying the scream as she had her hair spark. "Tell me where I can find the Go Weenies and no one else has to die. Refuse or mislead me and I'll kill you and everyone I find before them."

The poor woman could only whimper in response. It was unlikely that she could even make out what the electrical demon was saying and either way, she was far too rattled and afraid for conscious thought.

Not that it mattered too much. Electronique's attention was taken away almost immediately as something struck her neck.

"Did you really just try to taser me?" She laughed, ripping the projectile off, forgetting about her would be victim as she turned to face Dr Director and yanked on the cord, dragging the head agent toward her. "I have electrical powers, you idiot! That just tingled."

"It did its purpose though!" Dr Director snapped, embracing the tug and propelling herself into a flying kick. Swerving away, Electronique had to concede to that as the corner of her eye caught her old prey making a run for it before she was forced to raise an arm to block a back fist, smirking as she let electricity flow through her arm only to gasp as her unphased opponent planted her other fist into her gut. It was quickly followed with an uppercut to the jaw, sending the electrical villain sprawling on the ground.

'_An insulated suit.'_ Well, that was annoying, but not unexpected of Global Justice. Of course they'd come here prepped for her. Still, they weren't completely protected, she had, after all, electrocuted a number already and she had plenty of other methods.

Rolling from the attempt at her megaphone, Electronique kicked a wheeled table between them before rolling back into it as Dr Director flipped over it and shooting a bolt from her finger right at her opponent's head.

The head spy dropped to the ground faster than her eye could widen, avoiding the shot by sheer luck, and spun her body for a heel kick at the megaphone again, however, Electronique was quicker. A flash of grey and silver was all she saw before pain exploded from her side. "AARGH!"

"Always nice when you get help from panicking fools." Electronique sneered, twisting a scalpel within her flesh before ripping it out, eliciting another muffled cry from the spy. "They should be more careful where they leave their toys. Someone might get hurt. Especially if you don't tell me what I want to know."

"N...not a chance." Dr Director spat, forcing down a scream with clenched teeth as her stab wound was struck again.

"Then I guess I kill you and move on to the next." Electronique sneered, raising her electrified hand to Dr Director's unprotected face. "Not that it matters for you. If I don't kill you, you'd probably die when Global Justice goes boom anyway."

It was at that moment that a lot of things happened at once. Electronique was blown well away from her with a scream and a flash of green. A wall was smashed through with tyrannical laughter, only to be cut off something smacked into the source with a bang. But Dr Director didn't even register any more than the fact that she was free, for just as Electronique's words registered in her head, just as she flung up her arm to call headquarters, her watch exploded with a rapidly flashing red light and a string of loud, incessant beeps, which only meant one thing: Global Justice had been compromised.

...

Unlike with the fall of Go Tower, this time there was no warning. Not one member of Global Justice even noticed as Gemini's men hidden within their bases made their calls, nor the flashes heralding the arrival of their armed associates. One by one, base by base, the pairs activated their bombs and attached their teleporters to the still active phone lines before teleporting away without a trace, right before the explosions began.

All around the world, twenty bombs went off almost simultaneously with enormous force and once more, people were running away in pure terror as they watched the hidden bases explode before them or the ground they hid underneath caved beneath their feet.

Twenty of Global Justice's largest and most important bases worldwide were destroyed in an instant. Those within never stood a chance.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hospital Clash**

No matter where you looked, the city was a mess. Buildings with holes in them, shattered glass and burning vehicles everywhere, police, Global Justice and the military men and women the only people still running around the streets. Places that looked like bombs had gone off. And bodies. Lots of them dead, others heavily injured and left for dead.

It was heartbreaking for anyone to see this. The world was currently watching in horror, sending more medical and military help every moment, knowing that for many it would come too late, but it was even worse for those who called this city home. Even Shego couldn't quite stop the tears as she ran through the streets, leaping from damaged rooftops, traffic lights and the occasional bus roof as she made a beeline for the hospital.

Even when she went rogue, Shego never once even considered doing harm to Go City. This was where she grew up, the people around here raised her, were kind to her, embraced her and her brothers with cheers and open arms. She'd never admit it, but she still loved her home, still cared for it almost as much as her brothers did.

Then there were her brothers. Drakken was right, despite her urge to pummel them as black and blue as Hego's suit, she never did stop loving them. And now this had happened. They were hurt, one was...dead and the other two were in serious danger. She'd come to see them, to protect them, only to find that the hospital was already being attacked.

To attack a hospital of all places like this was a low even Shego would have never touched even in her darkest moments if it could be avoided. So many people were in there, hurt, sick, defenceless! And her brothers were now amongst them.

_'I don't even care how many are behind this, when I find them, they are all dead!'_ Growling under her breath as she ran across another roof, Shego, let her eye follow a flicker to the side of her vision and leaped for it, snagging the bar of a low flying helicopter heading in the same direction.

Reaching the hospital already far too late, Shego ditched her ride from a height that promised instant death to most people and dropped right down to the ground, her glowing hands digging into the wall and slowing her descent as she slid down it. She didn't even make it to the ground, opting instead to swing herself into a roll through a first floor window, fling herself back to her feet and surge towards the largest number of screams she could find.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Aviarius was cackling with glee as he zeroed in on the flash of green.

"Oh, this is perfect! Finally, all the powers of Team Go will be mine again!" He knew that he was supposed to be reporting back now, but who cared? He was still fuming at being cheated out of the red glow and while he would have conceded to following the plan and coming back to it after getting revenge on the girl that helped Team Go defeat him before, he just couldn't resist the temptation that the addition of the green glow provided. True, Drakken wanted Shego left completely out of this, but nuts to him. Besides, she'd clearly inserted herself on the enemy's side and was a serious threat to the mission, or at least that's how Aviarius would justify his deviation. Not that he cared much about the blue weirdo having a temper tantrum.

With another laugh, he pointed his staff toward the former villain and leaned down, silently guiding his condor to follow her, practically vibrating with excitement. Within an hour, his power would outmatch even Danny Phantom's, he was sure of it. He couldn't wait.

Not that he needed to. Smirking as they got within ten feet of the hospital, he tightened his grip on his staff, its crystal unleashing a blue glow that spread over his whole body, and flung himself straight at the stone wall.

...

Kim was fortunate that her head had managed to shake off the disorientation by the time she reached the fight, because it alone was head spinning. The place looked like a lightning storm had hit it, Global Justice agents, doctors and nurses were scrambling desperately everywhere in their attempts to stabilise and evacuate as many patients or wounded staff on beds and flung across the halls as possible and right in the middle of it was Electronique, with a sinister sneer and a bloodied scalpel in her hand, leaning over a pale, stabbed and horrified Dr Director.

If that wasn't enough, before Kim could even fully register what she was seeing, the ceiling blew from above across the room with a flash of green and resounding _boom_, revealing Shego dropping down and firing a beam from her hand before she even reached the ground. Tensing, Kim's instincts almost had her leaping away, however, she was quickly stunned still as the blast ignored her entirely and struck home into Electronique's side, sending the electrical psychopath flying away into a cracking wall with a scream.

"What..." It didn't stop there though. For before Kim could even wrap her head around the furious green clad woman glaring scathingly at the murderer, another, much bigger boom rocked the entire room as a wall exploded, sending fragments surging through the room and making way for a cackling, blue streak.

"HWAAH!" Fortunately, Ron was more prepared. With a flash of a lighter blue, all of the debris stopped and immediately surged back the way it came, slamming right back into the latest attacker and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Aviarius and Shego are here too? This getting out of hand!" Ron cried, looking around wildly as he dropped into his usual stance, his open palms wrapped around his body. "How do we handle all three AND save everyone in the hospital?"

"By counting our blessings." Kim answered, trying to get her own panic under control as she pointed toward their female dance partners just as Shego threw rapid blasts Electronique's way. "It looks like Shego's less than impressed."

"Oh." Ron almost sagged in relief, only to tense a little again as both women dived at each other. While both seemed keen to keep it close and personal, their flurry of slashes, punches and kicks were still unleashing lightning and energy blasts of randomly in all directions. "Uh, KP, we should probably put a stop to that. Somehow."

"You cover it. I'll take our other problem." Kim replied, narrowing her eyes at other side of the room and swallowing her urge to drag Ron with her as Aviarius pulled himself to his feet. It would be ok. He was still close if something went wrong. She'd be fine. "The last thing we need is to take the risk that that crystal can steal your power too."

Not even bothering to look back, Kim charged in before the sense of isolation could kick in and leaped into a flying kick, right at Aviarius' face, only to be blocked as he raised his staff between his hands. Unperturbed, Kim simply back flipped off of it and came back at him with fist aimed for his gut. However, it too was quickly avoided, this time with a flash of purple quickly shrinking the villain right down to her knee height before he jumped up with a flash of blue. Unprepared for the move, a wide eyed Kim barely managed to lean back in time to avoid the blow and was unfortunately still clipped in the shoulder.

"ARGH!" Despite the small size and lesser impact, the blow was still more than enough to throw Kim off of her feet and slam her back onto a gurney, pain exploding from both impacts.

"I wasn't expecting to see you just yet, Kim Possible." Aviarius smirked, quickly growing back to full size and slamming blue glowing staff down on the bed as she rolled off into a flip, putting some distance between the two of them. "What's stranger is that the others aren't here yet. CONDOR!"

"Maybe they have more sense?" Kim snapped, rolling to the side as the large bird swooped in, grunting as its talons yanked a few strands from her head. "Attacking a hospital under heavy guard? That's low and incredibly stupid. You've just make my job easier."

"I doubt that!" Aviarius grinned, throwing the damaged gurney her way, forcing her to roll aside and right into the path of the condor. Propelling herself to her feet, she hastily jumped and kicked off a wall, soaring over the bird and aiming another kick at Aviarius only for him to avoid it by shrinking again and throwing a chair at her, eliciting a scream as it smacked her in the back. "Unlike last time, I have Hego's power and I know I can use multiple powers at once. What chance does a superhero wannabe have against me?"

"You'd be surprised." She snapped as she forced herself up, her wish for Jake or Monique to be there back down, and tossed the chair right back at him as he regrew. With a quick flash of blue, he batted it away, however in the two seconds that his vision was blocked, Kim moved right in with an uppercut right into his gut and a punch to the face, sending him sprawling with a scream. A shriek from the returning condor forced her to back off after that, however both she and the bird flailed and screamed as a rogue surge of lightning shot between them, singeing the bird's feather tips and leaving its spasm-wracked body to the ground.

"Wha-ahh!" Kim on the other hand, though her fall had saved her, still quickly ended up low on the ground and scurrying away as more rogue surges flew around the room.

Electronique didn't even seem to be trying to aim anymore. The grey skinned villain was almost eternally surrounded by dancing electricity, bolts of it shooting off randomly from wild hand movements as flurries of green blasts came her way.

Screams only continued to grow louder, both from the trapped patients and hospital staff and from the combating women as Shego all but threw herself at Electronique, her glowing fists dispersing small, hasty electrical shots as the former villain seemingly tried to claw her old adversary's eyes out and backing her enemy into a more populated wing in the process.

"Honestly, I'm quite happy you're here, Shego." Electronique smirked, sending out a sudden surge from her entire body, leaving Shego grunting ferally as she skidding back behind a wall. "The blue nimrod's not here to protect you anymore either, so my revenge can be complete!"

"Like I ever needed protecting from you, you two-bit sparkplug!" Shego snapped back, charging right back in again, diving down, arching back and sliding on her knees under another electrical stream before swinging a leg out for a sweep kick as the electricity around her foe momentarily died. "And trust me, the vengeance will be mine!" Caught offguard and gasping, Electronique fell back, but only to release another two electrical streams wildly from her hands again. One of them aimed not for Shego, but for a room full of trapped patients watching it surge in horror.

That is, until a flash of light blue crossed the floor and shot up, bringing empty beds, tables and even the receptionist's desk previously sealed to the ground up with it from all around them, blocking the rogue shot and creating a floating barrier all around them.

Taking just enough time for a breath, Shego checked for the blue light's point of origin and relaxed, just slightly, as she found Ron in the corner of her eye, floating half a foot off the ground and cloaked in the same light blue energy taking the form of a monkey, his face contorted into a deep frown before turning back to the fight.

The blonde admittedly, was struggling a little. Of all his newly revealed powers, this was the one he struggled with the most. It took quite a bit of concentration to get what he wanted right and he was still learning his limits. More importantly, he was still learning restrained control. Unleashing his power and making chunks of metal float was easy enough, but moving it around where he wanted was almost impossible. Unless he just wanted to fling it, which he could do easily. However, that was still an all or nothing deal. He hadn't learned to hold back the force yet, so as much as he would love to slam everything inward and take the electrical bitch out, if he did, he'd probably kill not only her, but who knew how many other people as the projectiles continued and crashed through more of the hospital.

He couldn't stop his frown from turning into a furious scowl as he took in the situation. As much as he wanted to help Shego take Electronique down, he was stuck right where he was and an open target to boot. He had to keep this up, with so many hurt and trapped people still there, he had to keep Electronique and her electricity boxed in.

He could only hope that Shego would think to keep him safe. If he was forced to do anything to save himself, this defence would drop instantly. He couldn't even scratch his nose until the bystanders were safely out of the way. Which, seeing as they were stuck and the GJ agents all seemed out for the count, didn't look like it would be happening anytime soon.

Fortunately, it seemed that Shego had figured that out, for a second later, she was diving into it again, her glowing fists sending Electronique stumbling away and off, keeping the monkey master as far off to the side as possible.

"Get back here, Sparky!" Shego snarled with a kick. Electronique dodged it easily enough, but was left helpless as Shego used it to propel off a floating table and blast her from above, sending her sprawling with a scream. Surging again with a growl, Electronique let out a live stream as she rolled away from her weaving foe only to crash into the floating desk. Unprepared for it, she barely had a chance to get her bearings before a green beam came right at her heart, only just managing to neutralise the shot by gathering the already charged energy from around her body into an electrical stream of her own. However, it was still overpowered and with her balance was less than perfect already, she was quickly slammed back into the desk again.

"Blast this infernal...ARGH!" Her rant cut off as a glowing fist slammed into her gut. She didn't even get the chance to buckle over before she was tossed across the room, stopping just short of sliding into the makeshift barrier. Struggled huffs leaving her lips, she spared just a second to glare at the damn thing. It mocked her. Not only did it keep her pinned into close quarters with one of the few people in the world who could near effortlessly dodge her lightning attacks, but it was floating just high enough off the ground to let her see her megaphone not ten feet away. If she could just get that...

"Who helped you idiots?" Green explosions rained down, forcing Electronique into a rapid roll before jumping to her feet only to duck as a clawed hand swiped at her head. "There's no way you three stooges could have pulled this off on your best day! You couldn't even handle each other!" She emphasised with a kick before ripping her foot back and leaning away from the elicited wild sparks only to spin into a glowing backfist, cutting right through the hasty attempt and sending Electronique spinning.

"I thought I'd already made it clear!" Electronique snapped, throwing a highly charged fist of her own and forcing Shego back as electricity danced after her. "Did working for that buffoon dull your brain cells or are you just that desperate not to face the truth?"

"What are you t..." Shego glared, only to cut herself short as it registered. The comment about the blue nimrod...she didn't truly mean that, did she? She couldn't truly be implying that Drakken of all people had...

Shego could only stare, frozen as the mere possibility ran through her head, that someone she worked with and cared about so much, that Drakken, who happily kept family safely out of the way in his old world domination schemes, would ever go after her brothers. It just couldn't be possible. He'd never do that to her. Never.

She was frozen for just a moment, shaking her head as the denial kicked in. However, it was all the time Electronique needed to charge an attack and fire streams from both hands, laughing maniacally all the while. One at Shego and one at Ron.

"AAHHH!" Eyes wide and panicked, Ron didn't even think as he swung his arms up, protecting his face and, in the process, flinging the debris before him. Fortunately, it did respond in time to save him from electrocution, but the collision also sent everything ricocheting in all directions with a thunderous bang, narrowly avoiding Ron and Electronique, but clipping Shego hard as it all barrelled off with enough force risk breaking walls. And to make it worse, a number of pieces were flying right at...where Dr Director and a number of civilians used to be?

"Oh, thank God!" Ron exclaimed, dropping to his knees as the horror was visibly drained out of him. Everyone was safe, they'd been removed. But who was capable of removing so many so-

"I should have killed you the last time we met!"

"BAHH!" Instinctively leaning into rolling back as another electric blast was thrown his way, Ron flung himself up on one hand and flipped to the right, weaving around to avoid another and leaping toward the left to avoid a third before kicking a piece of wall at his infuriated opponent, only for her to dive into a roll to her right, grabbing a poll along the way and throwing it like a javelin.

"Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to have your plans ruined by an imbecilic sidekick like you? To have your own weapon turned on you by someone like you?" She shrieked, sending another electro ball his way again and again, only growing more frustrated as his startled screams were accompanied not by pain, but effective twists, weaves, flips and slides around them. "I spent six months volunteering for cooking duty and singing about rainbows!"

"Well, I'm sure your inmates appreci- WHOA, BAD LIGHTNING, VERY BAD LIGHTNING!" It took everything Ron had to avoid the next volley. Electronique wasn't even bothering with streams half the time anymore, opting instead to send surges through pipes and piles of damaged metal leading to her prey. It was enough that Ron almost flung the debris again, only hesitating out of fear of what else it might barrel into.

Plus, he'd end up taking all of it and the wooden desks were great for cover.

Fortunately, the job was done for him a moment later as green blasts crashed into the piles, sending Electronique fleeing backwards from the resulting barrage, breaking her concentration and giving the monkey mystic a moment to take a deep breath.

"Next time you defy gravity, try actually aiming." Shego growled as she appeared by Ron's side, still throwing blast after energy blast at their opponent, forcing her off balance, all the while glaring at Ron through the corner of her eye. "I aughta fry you! You've broken at least one of my ribs!"

"Hehe, my bad. I haven't learned restraint with that trick yet." Ron chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, only to duck again with an eep as another surge of electricity was shot at him. "Doesn't this woman ever run out of lightning?"

"Nope, never found her supply's limit, only her output's." Shego growled, grunting in pain as she too was forced to dive for cover before grabbing her blond ally and glaring at the resulting high pitched cry. "Listen scrawny, I'm going to keep her distracted and you're going to get in there and knock this bitch out, got me!" It was no question, the tone of voice and look on her face was all demand.

"What, why me?" Though that didn't stop Ron from arguing.

"Because, you're the idiot who _broke my ribs_!" Shego snarled, getting a terrified gulp in return as she threw more energy balls over their barricade. "I'm pushing it just throwing blasts at her right now, how do you expect me to survive getting close and personal with anyone?"

"But how am I supposed to hit her?" Ron cried, though he did follow Shego's example and grab a broken chair, snapping its pieces apart and tossing them at the approaching villain between lightning strikes. "She throws electricity from every part of her body! I can't even get close to her, much less touch her!"

"Getting close is easy! She can only shoot long range if she charges power, which she can only do with her hands." Shego snapped, grabbing Ron and pulling him away and behind another pillar as their desk was finally destroyed. "There's only two shots at best at a time, which she'll be aiming at me, and she can't do that and coat her body at once. So get in there, wait for the moment and strike! The bitch! Down!" She finished, grabbing a yelping Ron by the shoulder and back of his pants and tossing him into the air, ignoring her own pain as she shot another pair of beams of her own at their foe. A cruel, albeit pained, smirk split her lips as one managed to strike home, blowing the screaming live wire into a wheelie chair and tumbling with it to the ground. It was, sadly, little more than a flesh wound to Electronique, but it was definitely a satisfying sight for the former villain and had the desired effect. Ron had been all but forgotten about as she exploded back to her feet, surging with lightning and charging in for the kill.

Neither woman even noticed as Kim was sent sliding across the room, forcing herself not to scream as the ground tore up her skin. Finally coming to a stop as her shoulder hit the hallway corner the others had been fighting in before, she didn't even have time to register the latest injury before she took off rolling along the wall, narrowly dodging Condor's talons as it swooped in and limiting its airspace, forcing it to back away and re-angle itself.

Though that quickly turned into a disadvantage as Aviarius came cackling back into the fight, slamming the butt of his staff right through the wall where Kim's head had been only seconds before. Her own movement cut off, Kim was forced into a rapid series of short rolls and twists just to avoid the staff's and stomping feet's relentless barrage before sliding herself in between his legs. Spinning into a sweep kick, she couldn't stop the smug grin from spreading across her face as his legs came out from under him and ended his cackling with a face plant on the wall. Even as she was forced to dodge Condor again, even as screams, explosions and the buzz of electricity carried on maybe fifteen feet behind her, there was no taking away the satisfaction of causing that scum bag's head to get stuck in the wall and all thanks to his own super strength.

"You good for nothing WENCH! I'll get you for this, just wait...CONDOR!" Responding immediately, the bird of prey let out a screech and went berserk. Forgoing its own safety entirely, the raptor swooped right at Kim directly. Kim ducked and stepped aside, but the bird refused to let up, twisting its limbs painfully, to the point of spluttering in the air, in its attempt to sink its beak and talons into Kim's flesh. By the time Aviarius ripped his head back out of the plaster, a number of slashes had sunk into a grunting and gasping Kim's arms and shoulders. One was even just inches below her eye.

"Not so confident now, are we, little Miss Sassy?" Aviarius sneered, raising his staff like a baseball bat as he ran in again, leaving horror wreaking havoc right through Kim as she caught sight of him. The dumb bird had her caught between it and a maze of rubble! There was no room to manoeuvre between the two of them and no chance of holding her own with that blue light coating the bird fanatic. "When I'm through with you, I'll use your entrails to feed my- ARGH!"

Fortunately, he never even got close. For with a flash of red and a battle cry, a huge mass with what felt like the weight of an elephant from his right and spread above him, sending him plummeting right back to the ground.

It didn't stop there either, for even as Aviarius was tumbling, a chunk of the red and black mass piling on top of him rolled ahead, leaped forward and tackled the condor, eliciting a terrified screech as it crashed into the ground. Consumed in panic, it thrashed wildly, its legs constantly kicking as it tried to release itself, however it was completely outmatched as two sets of hands held its head and back down while their connected bodies each pinned a wing.

"Wego?" Kim gasped, a small, surprised, but relieved and grateful smile crossing her lips as she leaned down on her knees, taking the moment to try and catch her breath. "Thanks big time for the save. I thought you'd be guarding Hego?"

"The original is." One Wego grunted, trying, but not quite succeeding, to give her a strained grin of his own as they struggled with the Condor. "We have to keep both of them safe. We can't risk Aviarius getting all of our power."

"But we couldn't risk everyone else either!" The other growled, quickly getting fed up with his captive as it tried to peck him. "We got everyone out of this area and into the still stable parts of the hospital. So now...if it's the red glow these assholes want, it's the red glow they'll get."

"You think you have any hope against ME!"

"Emphasis on 'get'." Kim groaned, pointing back to Aviarius as his scream met their ears. Sure enough, the guy was in a frenzy, swinging his staff, its crystal exploding with light, in every direction he could. Screams, roars and every foul insult Kim knew struck her ears as the mass pummelled down on the bird villain, bringing plenty of pain induced screams from within, but one by one, the swarm of Wegos was fading into flashes of red and being absorbed.

"Then you better get on that before he starts using it and becomes unstoppable." Wego muttered, growling as a particularly strong jolt almost threw him off the damn bird. "We'll keep this overgrown pigeon off your back."

"I owe you one." Kim called back. She was already heading in, her confident smirk making its first genuine appearing since the fight began. She was good now. She had a team watching her back. Wego was tough and there were still plenty of him around. They were more than capable of keeping her safe and she was more than happy to do the same for him.

Even though only one remained from the pile by the time she reached the brawl, it didn't bother her. Her _team_ had done its job, bruises, lumps and even a swelling, closed eye covered Aviarius from head to toe. His cries and screams, while still constant, were far more frequently from the pain of simple movements as he tried to steal the last clone's power. And there was still a total of three Wegos watching her back.

Shoving the last clone as Aviarius unleashed his crystal's power upon him, Kim only took a second to get over the surge of energy sending a tingling sensation through her entire being before forcing her body to move again, right to the source.

"Wha...ARGH!" Aviarius could only gape at the sight before he was once again slugged in the face. "Why you...don't you ever go down!" He screeched, swinging his staff again only for Kim to lean back under it and fling back up with an open palm thrust. Aviarius managed to avoid it, but Kim just pressed on with a swinging elbow. He tried to blow her away with a kick, only for her to grab it and flip, aiming her boot for his face, which he only managed to avoid by letting himself fall to the ground and a thud. The moment her feet found the ground again, Kim responded with a downward fist for his gut.

"AAHHH!" Screaming as he rolled, losing his cape as Kim sideswiped his shoulder, he smacked the ground, finally forcing Kim back as a deep crack split and fell away. However, he was far from confident with his success, so he didn't even stop for a desperately needed breath before throwing another chair at the heroine before leaping at her himself. He couldn't give her an inch anymore, even if he desperately needed it. She'd changed too much for that, grown to direct, to fluid in her movements and reactions. She was still only using the same kind of moves as before, yet it was like she was suddenly on a completely different level from before. He wasn't sure what was the cause of the change, but there was no denying that she was far more dangerous now than a moment ago.

Sadly for him, she also had help. Grabbing another broken chair, Wego flung himself in the way and swung it at the projectile as hard as he could. He was flung right off of his feet and away at the sheer force, but that only helped Kim as she jumped over him and Aviarius. Landing hands first on the villain's shoulders, she spun her body around, twisted her legs around his waist and used the remaining force to flip again, ripping the bird villain off his feet with her and smacking him face first into the ground.

"ARGH! M-my...my noooose!" To put it simply, Aviarius was in agony. Thanks to his accumulated injuries, mostly from Wego, every movement was already causing him to flinch in pain and now, not only had all of them just been intensified by Kim's last strike, now his head spinning with what was no doubt a concussion and what little focus he could drum up was informing him that his long nose was very bent and broken.

"I would have thought that a bird villain would be harder to ground." Kim smirked over her shoulder, almost lazily pulling herself. "What is it that Hego always says when he captures you? Something about you being ready for your cage?"

"Not...not thi-thissss time!" Aviarius spluttered, scowling hatefully up at the young hero. Slowly pulling himself onto all fours, he forced his mind to clear and ignore the pain, snapped out his hand for his staff and put all of his focus on summoning all three collected powers. "No c-c-cage will ho-ld me again!"

Gritting her teeth, Kim burst forward. She knew it was probably too late, he'd be able to activate any power he wanted before she'd even touch him, but she had to try. If she could just get her hands on the staff...

Luck seemed to be on her side, for once again a stray, green energy blast struck their fight, this time behind Aviarius' feet.

"AAH!" Flung and flailing forward by the resulting mini explosion, Aviarius' fear only grew as he waved his staff, crystal first, right into Kim's hands. "NO!"

"Oh yes!" Kim retorted, yanking it right from his grip. Panic flooding his veins, Aviarius forgot all about the pain of his body and flung himself after it, just managing to snag the butt of the staff and yank back, leaving the two of them in a game of tug of war. Unperturbed, Kim dug in her heels and pulled, smiling victoriously as a cracking sound came from under her fingers. Specifically, right where the orb met the base. "Please, keep tugging! Just one more good pull should do it."

Aviarius on the other hand, watched on in horror. Immediately ending his resistance, but refusing to let go of his weapon, he mindlessly let Kim's pulls fling him forward and focused on it power again, the orb quickly responding with a purple light.

"Oh, no you don't!" Kim however, wasn't about to let him slip through the cracks again and only tightened her grip. If he wanted to shrink, that was fine with her. Up so close, he'd be easy to separate from his staff once he was tiny and even easier to finish off. It'd be even easier if she could keep it in her grasp. She refused to let it go.

Though, this time, the power seemed hesitant to surface. Beyond the crystal at least, for light intensified with every second within it for a good half a minute before finally exploding forth. However, instead of just shrinking Aviarius, the light enveloped Kim first. The next thing she knew, both of them were quickly falling to the floor. What's more, the shrinking staff was slipping from both of their hands, no longer able to cross the distance of their bodies. Aviarius could only squawk as it slipped from his fingers, clattering down between them, and dived for it, ignoring Kim completely.

That move sealed his fate, for while this turn of events was unexpected, Kim just rolled with it. Running in herself, Kim easily reached it first and kicked it away right before Aviarius could grasp it and swung her foot back right into his devastated face one last time. He didn't even scream this time. He was unconscious before he even finished rolling.

"Oh, finally!" Kim sighed, sinking to her knees a moment later. As the sense of victory and relief filled her, her injuries and exhaustion quickly caught up to her. Taking in a number of slow, deep breaths, she scanned the area to find the condor also unconscious, as was the Wego that protected her. The other two were still conscious, but both looked scratched up and as exhausted as Kim herself. Letting them rest, Kim turned her attention to finding the staff. After all, not only did it still have Team Go's powers, it was the only way Kim was getting back to her normal size. However, she could only groan as she realised just where she'd kicked it. "Of course I kicked down the damn hole in the floor! Why'd I expect anything to suddenly get easier?"

Groaning and flinching as she forced herself back to her feet, she was about to turn to the Wegos and ask for a hand down...

"BWAAH!" But that was blown right out of her mind as Ron's cry hit her ears. Dread filled her as she turned to the ongoing fight. The entire area was smoking and covered in scorch marks, debris or holes from the floor to the ceiling. It was amazing that the whole floor hadn't collapsed into the basement yet and the shots were still coming hard and heavy from both sides, green explosions and lightning blazing through the air like the fourth of July. And right in the middle of it, trying to get between Electronique and her supercharged megaphone, was a flailing Ron.

The fight was clearly taking a toll on him. Even as she watched, the pace that he was forced to keep up just to survive was ridiculously high and he was visibly wearing out fast. Both women were being relentless in their attacks, giving him not even a second's reprieve and it was clear that he simply couldn't keep up anymore. He was lucky his mission suit was insulated, because he'd clearly taken a few minor hits throughout the fight, the fabric was singed and smoking in multiple places and completely burned off on his right shoulder blade, mostly likely from a stray shot of Shego's, revealing very red skin.

To make matters worse, he was clearly desperate to get between Electronique and her current target. For good reason, if Electronique got her hands on that sonic weapon again, it would be the end of all of them, but it was leaving him both far too vulnerable to his opponent and in the way of his ally's attacks and in that situation he didn't have the focus to spare on his kinetic abilities.

Kim didn't care that she could fit in the palm of their hands, she took off running, only considering her size with frustration as the gap between her and her targets only grew bigger. Her legs were too small, it was taking ten steps to cross the distance of one at her normal height and the others were still on the move! At this rate, she'd never reach them!

_'Would the universe PLEASE just cut me a break for FIVE MINUTES?'_ She thought exasperatedly, clenching her jaw as another scream from Ron and a cuss from Shego hit her ears. _'I NEED to save my boyfriend and I need to do it now! So would you PLEASE just LET ME-' _"Whoa!"

It was right at that moment that a flash of purple flared from her body, leaving her stumbling and falling, disorientated as she shot back up to her full height. The relief she felt at that was palpable, but she didn't waste time relishing it, nor did she ponder how it was possible. That mystery could wait for later. Right now, Ron was a priority.

"Kim!" She did however, look over her shoulder as a tired Wego called just in time to see him throwing a wad her way. Snagging it out of the air, she ripped it apart to see it was a pair of thick, insulated gloves that looked suspiciously like DR Director's. Throwing a quick, appreciative grin back at the boy as she slipped them on, she upped her speed and clasped her raised hands together as she reached Electronique from behind.

The lightning queen never even noticed until they were planted right into her side.

"ARGH! Why you BITCH!" Electronique screamed, swinging an electrified backfist as she stumbled, only to roar again as Kim weaved under it and rolled away, throwing whatever debris back at her as she could.

"You're calling me a bitch?" Kim snarled right back as she moved in again, ducking low and slamming her fist into Electronique's knee as a pair of green blasts flew over her head half a second later, eliciting a blood curdling scream as the grey woman was blown away. "Coming from someone as despicable as you, it's a pleasure."

"Go KP! BOO YAAH!" Ron cheered between breaths as he stumbled across the room. Taking advantage of the distraction, he made a beeline for the megaphone slammed his foot down into it, shattering it into countless pieces before letting his body sag a little. They were good now. Yeah, they were all noticeably hurt and tired, but so was Electronique and they had her outnumbered three to one. Five to one, two Wegos were heading over too. Not that Electronique would still be standing by the time they reached them.

"I am so over this glorified car battery!" Shego yelled, firing repeatedly, blowing holes in the ground all around Electronique. With one knee busted, the scattered blasts were more than enough to keep her pinned. She tried firing back, but Ron was back on point, levitating debris and blocking the shot while simultaneously sending himself up and aerial flipping into kick, bringing his foot down on Electronique's shoulder right before Kim slid below the falling villain and slamming a vicious right hook right into the solar plexus. Choking on her own air, Electronique crumbled over Kim's fist before crashing into the ground, struggling to breathe. She just laid there, writhing in the agony, much to Shego's pleasure, for a moment more before a deep breath left her lips and her eyes closed, her body growing so motionless that Kim had to check for a pulse to ensure that she still alive. Sighing when she did find it, Kim herself collapsed to the ground, her vision quickly darkening as Ron's muffled, panicked cries hit her ears.

Her body was done. The last of the adrenaline had worn out and everything from her injuries to her anxiety was catching up in waves. She no longer had the strength to care about anything, except sleep.

Yeah, sleep sounded good.

...

"Well, that didn't go exactly to plan. If those two were going to go rogue, they could at least have finished what they started." Rubbing his forehead, Vlad let out a deep sigh as he watched the fight's end on his monitors. It had been a hell of a fight, one he struggled to even see. It was amazing that enough security cameras had remained intact to see anything and even then, the constant streams of power and flying wreckage blocked out almost everything, assuming the cameras themselves weren't struck down. Honestly, how half the hospital hadn't collapsed in on itself and ended the battle by crushing everyone to death was a mystery to Vlad, he'd never seen a such reckless use of power in his entire life! Part of it still would collapse, there was no doubt of that, the only question was could Stoppable and the clones get everyone out of the area first. Vlad was sure they would. Kim was going to survive this.

"What a waste." Vlad sighed again, watching as Electronique was carefully picked up by the Wego clones, who looked like they'd love nothing more than to dump her down the nearest hole, and Aviarius was snagged in Shego's fist, the former villain looking just as keen to crush him in her glove. He'd had such high hopes for the two of them. But he supposed that it was inevitable. They cared too little about ruling the world, they were focused more on revenge and smaller territories. "But still, hardly a total waste." He mused, his face lighting up in malicious glee as he glanced at his side monitors. Even as the heroes were evacuating above, the remaining members of Drakken's forces in the city had picked up the shrunken staff and were already sneaking away in the confusion. Vlad found it odd though, that both the staff and Aviarius were still so small when the same power had worn off of Kim Possible. That was strange. Though the thought only lasted a moment in Vlad's mind as his eyes moved on to various scenes of mass destruction. He didn't need to hack a thing for those. Every news station in the world was currently all over the sudden pandemonium of large underground explosions ripping buildings apart and unleashing countless fire and electrical disasters as the ground beneath collapsed in on itself. Spectra must be absolutely beside herself with joy right now.

Though she was now a lost asset, Electronique had certainly done her main objective. Kim and her surviving allies in Team Go were heavily injured. Her modifications to the teleportation modules were invaluable, allowing the bombs to be teleported to their destinations without exploding prematurely, allowing them to eradicate twenty of Global Justice's biggest and most important bases with ease. She even went above and beyond, striking down dozens of Global Justice agents in Go City, including the Head of the organisation herself. Vlad's smile grew deeper and darker as the doctors struggled to save her. Even if they did, by the time she was back on her feet, it would be far too late for Global Justice.

And to wrap it all up, the mass attacks had had another unexpected, but very welcome response. Vlad couldn't stop himself from cackling with glee as a figure rushed out of Capsule Corp, heading straight for a nearby disaster zone. Specifically, one who wore Gatling gauntlets on his arms.

"This couldn't be more perfect." He exclaimed, already moving to activate his com system. It only took a second for Bertrand to show up on his screen.

"Plasmius. I assure you, we did retrieve the staff. However, I regret to say that we couldn't regain our former allies."

"Yes, yes, I saw." Vlad replied, waving it off impatiently. "Fortunately, they're both far too injured for interrogation, so I suppose for the gains this has given us, that isn't too much of a setback. At any rate, that's not why I called. Another golden opportunity has presented itself. Have Spectra send an attack force to the location of Metro City's destroyed Global Justice base. The hero Tech is joining the rescue attempt. This is our best chance to capture him. Just remember to reinforce the level of danger this boy represents and the fact that we need him _alive_ to the pawns."

"I'll see what I can do." With that curt response, Bertrand disappeared, bringing a scowl to dark hybrid's face for a moment, but as he returned his attention back to the two heroes in the field, he decided to let it slide. While not perfect, so far the mission was going successfully. They could just swoop in and kill Kim Possible right now if they wanted to, but Vlad hoped that Spectra and the other pawns would continue to listen to his plan. He was sure most of them would. After all, not only would the plan now end the threat of Kim Possible and her network, but it would gain the villains a serious technological boost and cripple the Valour Guardians' resources all at once. One could always count of villains to act in the best interests of their safety and their greed. After all, even Vlad was no different.

Just look at his plan. When it was all said and done, everything he wanted would pile up in his lap and, provided Spectra's stunt had or would soon be neutralised, it would still be Kim Possible's idiotic rogue gallery that would take the inevitable heat.

He truly was an amazing, evil genius. There was no stopping him now.


	13. Chapter 13

**Scrambling Through The Chaos**

"_We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this emergency broadcast. No less than ten minutes ago, the world was rocked as twenty explosions were simultaneously unleashed, each in their own separate location across the globe. The source of the explosions and their targets are yet to be determined and sadly, it is unclear as to how long such a discovery could take. Many explosives have occurred underground and have created deep sink holes. As you can see, this in turn has compromised the structural integrity of multiple buildings at most impact sites…"_

The reporter continued on, but Wade had already stopped paying attention. He had far too many things to focus on already and the constant clicking of computer quickly drowned out most other sounds. He barely even noticed the others running around him.

This whole situation was an absolute nightmare. The scope of it was so big and varied that he couldn't keep up. The attack on the hospital happened so quick and disrupted so many cameras that following it alone was a challenge, leaving him struggling to find incoming footage of anything going on inside it. For the first time he could remember, he barely knew any more than the reporters covering the scene, and this time all of them were useless. As crazy for a story as they usually got, even they knew to stay far away from this warzone. It was only now that he was getting a full set of details.

"Kim's completely out cold, and a little beaten up, but she's come back swinging from worse." Ron sighed, rubbing his face. Whether due to his own relief or exhaustion, Wade wasn't sure. He could probably figure it out if he spent more than a second's glance on the Kimmunicator's monitor. "I think she mostly just needs sleep."

"That's good to hear." Stated Wade, relaxing just a little as he pressed on with his work. "What about everyone else? Reports on the hospital are lousy and being completely overridden by the worldwide explosions."

"Well, no one died. You know, outside the initial attack and first responding Global Justice agents, anyway." Ron grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. "A lot of people have serious ear damage and electrical burns though. The Director's in bad shape, she's in surgery right now, and Shego has some broken ribs and is already terrorizing the doctor trying to help her, but other than that, most people just have minor injuries and a lifetime's worth of mental trauma. I can relate."

"And the villains?" Wade asked, checking every program and page he had monitoring the city.

"Electronique and Aviarius will both live and recover. But they won't be talking to anyone anytime soon. We were not in any way gentle when we clobbered them." That response unnerved Wade a little to be honest. He'd never once heard Ron sound like that. It was the kind tone that could only say 'they deserved what they got'. "But there is something else I need to mention. Have you checked the phone lines since the fight? Or have you turned them off?"

"What? No, I...completely forgot all about it." Wade groaned, his fingers coming to an immediate halt as he smacked himself in the face. Damn it, what a stupid mistake! he'd let himself get too distracted when Electronique showed up and only focused on trying to get a good view of the situation. That meant that the phone lines were left completely free for their enemies' help to aid them or escape. That could have ended with everyone dead so easily! How could he be so careless?

"Well, that might be bad." Ron grimaced, sucking a loud breath through his clenched teeth. "See, the staff with the Glow powers fell into the basement and the agents who were sent after it came back claiming it was gone and holding a teleporter thingy."

"Oh terrific!" Wade exclaimed, now smacking his head repeatedly against the desk. So instead of his screw up further endangering his friends now, he'd let the villains escape with the biggest prize. With that staff, anyone could become a serious threat, if it fell into the wrong hands...like Dementor's who so far seemed like the most likely mastermind behind all of this...who knew what would be coming next?

"Hey Wade, don't beat yourself up so much! We all make mistakes, man." Ron cried, throwing his face up close to the screen in his concern. "Besides, there's bigger things to worry about right now. Like, how are you and the others? Actually, where are they?" He asked, perplexed as he pulled back from the screen and looked around, only growing more confused at everyone's absence. "I thought that at least Monique and Felix would have pushed you out of the way by now and demanded answers."

"They and Henry have taken off to help with rescue and evacuations. Bulma has everyone else either checking the company for any damage or checking in with their families." Wade sighed. "Metro City's one of the bomb sites. We got rocked here a little, but Capsule Corp's a safe enough distance away from the blast zone. We're fine here and I'm monitoring the others as best I can. So far, they're going fine."

"Oh good. I was worried for a second there." Said Ron, the tension visibly relaxing from his shoulders as he sagged. Though, it was quickly replaced by a trouble frown crossing his face. "But man, what are the odds of this all happening at once? I mean, first Team Go's attacked by an unexpected team up, then the hospital's attacked while we're in it and then, at the same time, twenty Global Justice branches were somehow blown up without a hint or a trace? Whoever's done this was a mastermind!"

"Wait, what?" Wade cried, whipping his wide eyes up at Ron. "The explosions were all from Global Justice bases?"

"Yeah, you didn't already know?" Ron exclaimed, his jaw dropping in disbelief and only making Wade feel even more foolish. Apparently, there were even more important details his currently scattered focus had allowed him to miss. "I heard some of the agents talking to the Doc's number two about it. Twenty of their most well defended, high security bases were blown to smithereens simultaneously without the slightest warning. It was like the bombs were brought in by magic! Which, to be fair, apparently that is possible."

"But so is teleportation!" Within a second, Wade was back at his other screen and typing faster than ever before. Bringing up his findings from before, he quickly noted a number of new strange energy fluxes surging out of Go City before expanding his search of the grid, narrowing in on every city to be struck. And sure enough, there they were. Metro City, Hong Kong, Sydney, every one of those twenty locations showed unusual phone line activity, one going in and two coming out. "Got them! This was Dementor's doing too."

"Seriously? How could that be? Wouldn't someone have to answer a phone to let them in?" Ron cried.

"Yep. But there's two signatures going out. Maybe they abducted whoever answered their calls." Wade answered, frowning in concern at the thought before a big grin started growing on his face. "But that just means that there may be more survivors we can still save. And, more importantly, this means that I can track them."

"You the man, Wade!" Ron declared, opting to just go with it as Wade got to work. "I'm going to check up on everyone again and let the agents here know what's going on. Let me know if you find anything that I can pretend to understand?"

"You bet. And you let me know when Kim wakes up, ok?" Wade replied, getting an immediate nod in response. "I'll see you later then, Ron."

"Bye." The screen went blank a second later, but Wade barely even noticed. Hell, he barely even paid attention to what Monique and Felix were doing. He was too driven, to determined to complete his own plan. This was their chance. The warehouse may have been a bust, with this many agents to track, it was only a matter of time before he found their hideout. And when they did, he'd shut down their link and leave them trapped to face probably half the world after what they'd done.

Turning his attention back to the TV for just a moment, Wade could only nod his head in resolution as tears fell down his face at the sight of a man desperately trying to reach his injured wife before turning back to work. He wasn't going to stop until he found the ones who did this and had them sent to Hell for it.

….

Getting to the blast site would have been notoriously difficult for most people. Hordes of screaming people and speeding cars were everywhere. It was amazing no one had been crushed yet as they clambered over each other, fences and even speeding vehicles once or twice in their desperate attempts to flee. The pure terror was only growing stronger as the buildings groaned around them and sink holes started breaking through the ground, even a good five blocks away from the actual detonation site. It was of no surprise really, the stability of a large, deep area of the earth beneath the city had been violently compromised. There was simply no way of currently knowing just how far that sudden gap in pressure would affect and with so many high-risers in the area, half the city was likely to be in the danger zone.

Even the sky was hazardous, as rescue and media helicopters alike were flocking the area, frequently coming in low for the scoop or to seek out more victims. Something that was dangerous in itself the closer you got to the source with all the tilting buildings. Even Felix was having trouble getting around in the chaos, struggling to avoid everything airborne or falling, before finally stopping at a building leaning against its neighbor. He and Monique must have found some people stuck, for Monique was firing one of her launchers at the window a second later, the screech of shattering glass piercing the area as the ball on the end of her rope broke through. They disappeared from sight instantly after that.

Honestly, Henry was tempted to do the same thing. There was no difficulty whatsoever in finding buildings or piles of rubble holding down trapped and injured people. However, he forced himself to push on, right to the core of the situation. Rescue crews were already running rampart throughout the city and those further out were still safer. The people at the blast site were a different story entirely.

So, blocking out every distraction he could, every excuse to stop, he kept ploughing his way forward, running up and kicking off the side of buildings to avoid the masses with a speed and precision that would have left even Ryo in the dust, a dull green glow never quite fading from his eyes and feet.

Reaching the blast zone far faster than even he'd thought he could, Henry took a moment to observe the situation. Rescue vehicles had circled the area and a number of people were already making their way slowly down the new cliff, however most had succeeded at very little so far. The newly concussed and exposed soil was still coming loose and falling, making it hard to find safe ways to enter or evacuate the trapped and injured. Helicopters were having better luck, dropping ladders to the relatively uninjured on higher ground and dropping down themselves wherever they could find people trapped or hurt in relatively stable areas, but they were merely scratching the surface, almost literally.

Some areas were quickly filling with water, no doubt from both the park's large water sources and the sewers being breached and blocked, and power lines were sparking in all directions. The power hadn't been cut yet. That meant, in addition to the still shifting buildings, stones and debris, there were high risks of drowning, electrocutions and fiery explosions if those wild sparks hit anything flammable, a possibility that was far too likely to happen at any time. Add the fact that, even more frequently than the areas beyond, the ground was still settling and opening new holes everywhere, and you had one hell of a nightmare to navigate. It could take days just to get a semi-safe footing in the area. That was far too much time for the people within.

Fortunately, Henry didn't need days. In fact, all he waited for was the determining of a semi-clear area and set locations of as many injured civilians as he could track before flinging his arms out and diving from the side of a tilted five story build into the nightmare below.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"OH MY GOD! SOMEONE CATCH HIM!"

"DID HE FALL OR IS HE JUST SUICIDAL?"

"WHO CARES? BOY, GRAB THIS! QUICKLY!"

Sparing the last guy he heard shouting a flicker of his eye, he saw and almost ignored the offered safety line being thrown his way, one hanging from a small crane over the mouth of the hole, probably meant for evacuees to tie themselves with and get pulled up to safety. However, noting the length, he opted to snag it at the last second, but rather than swinging and slowing his decent, he gave it a hard yank and with a flare of green light around his gauntlets, Henry altered his course. Drowning out all the cries of fear, concern and, eventually, amazement, Henry flung his arms up at the last second and came to a sudden, jerky, but steady halt, his body flinging itself upright and planting his feet carefully on the ground.

Careful to keep his arms up and out around him, he let his feet kick at the ground, double checking its stability as his glowing eyes scanned the area. The rubble beneath him held a lot of metal, large plates of it, but the hum of electricity was low. All in all, he was confident in his original speculation and let his feet sink in a little more. The area was sturdy, perfectly safe. For now anyway.

Satisfied, he took one more look around before grinning as he narrowed his vision on a long, still standing, metal pole. It was just a street light, one that was missing probably the top third of it, but not only was it upright, it was safe to touch and, judging both from a few good tugs and his power telling him just how deep underground the metal continued on, very stable. So he took no time at all climbing up halfway and tying the rope tightly around it. Giving the rope a few tugs as well, ensuring his work would hold, Henry then turned back to his still frazzled, would-be rescuers with a big smile and jumped up onto the rope, summoning a small, metal pipe along the way and held it above him in both hands as he slid back down it. Landing with a good thump, he turned back to the group and stomped around a bit more, all the while nodding his head encouragingly toward the newly made zip line. Confident he got his point across and that more rescuers would be down there soon, he gave them one more firm look before stunning them all once again as he took off at top speed, his arms up at either side of him once again as he made a beeline for the nearest people he could find.

"Stay still! I'm coming!" He called ahead, his voice demanding and concerned enough to bring a woman trying to dig herself and her child out of very unstable debris to an immediate halt. Practically sliding to a stop beside her, Henry gave both terrified faces his most gentle and reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You're going to be fine."

….

"Ya gettin a bit out there, Drakken!" Killigan exclaimed, throwing his hands at the screen as he turned to the mad scientist. "I thought da point was ta off Kim Possible! Why should we bother with this super-powered random?"

"Agreed." Monkey Fist nodded, crossing his arms as he landed Drakken with a deadpan stare. "We know exactly where she is and that hospital is both damaged and still full of easy bait to draw her right to us with. We could swarm in and crush her."

"Don't be foolish." Spectra spat back, startling everyone with the sheer level of venom in Drakken's voice. Honestly, it was a miracle her eyes weren't pure red with a glowing body to match right now. This stupid demand was right out of the blue, had far too demanding of a time crunch for convincing this gaggle of idiots and was far too likely to blow up in everyone's faces. The bastard had her trying to turn this loser squad against the biggest guns in the world, which she had previously used to terrify them into submission! They were far more likely bail or mutiny then go along with this. "Thanks to those two idiots' stunt, we might, if we're lucky, get in and succeed, but we would never make it out alive. We need to draw her to a new place and no matter where that place is, removing this boy has become critical."

"And why would that be?" Senor Senior Sr inquired, raising an unimpressed eyebrow as he watched the boy effortlessly shove a heavy, metal plate off an old man before quickly and carefully carrying him to a rescue crew's safety zone. "Yes, the teen is stronger and faster than any normal human, but that hardly makes him drastically important."

"He's also a technopath!" Spectra snapped, only to slap her face when half the hired helped only stared blankly in response. "He can manipulate and control all forms of technology with just his mind! Once connected to the internet, he can take any information and control all technology connected to it the world over! That includes the phone lines, which they know we've been using to get around! Now that he knows what to look for, he can track and disrupt our every move."

"What?" Dementor hissed, ripping his eyes away from the Asian effortlessly running through a highly unstable area to glare at the blue villain. "You pulled this stunt knowing someone like _that_ was getting involved with Kim Possible? You fool! You'll get us all taken down!"

"I didn't know he had that kind of power pre-plan! I've barely even heard of the bunch he comes from!" Spectra hissed right back, making a point to get right into his helmet covered face, grumbling mentally herself at just how true that statement was. "I found out while spying on Wade and his new associates. Now we need to correct this quickly and we've been given the perfect opportunity. He's alone and in a highly hazardous environment. There are injured people everywhere to keep him distracted and hesitant. There's little active tech in a five mile radius he'd willingly use to help himself, he's not going to get more vulnerable than he is now. We're not going to get a more perfect time to capture him!"

"And why would we bother capturing him, cuz? Why not just off him, like the rest of your hit list? Seriously!" Motor Ed frowned, sharing confused looks with more than one associate.

"Agreed. If he's that dangerous to us, keeping him with us is only asking for trouble, boss." Hank nodded.

"He's not nearly so dangerous if we keep all technology out of his range." Spectra answered, struggling to ignore the snickers as her bottled rage triggered Drakken's sunflower petals. "But he does have information that could be very useful to us, will make a great hostage and there are a few other details we can discuss later, but right now, time is of the essence! If you still want to end Kim Possible, this boy's capture is a key point that we have to achieve now!"

"Have fun in your attempt." Gemini grunted uncaringly, dismissing the whole conversation as he turned his back on the group. "I care nothing for the girl. By some miracle, your plan has already succeeded in our mutual interest, so there's no longer a reason for me to stay."

"Gemini! Have you heard nothing of what I've said?" Spectra cried, starting a minor panic as the dark spy boss and his minions headed toward the exit. "Read between the lines! This boy will be an eternal threat to us all unless we deal with him!"

"Then I hope your sheer dumb luck continues." Gemini glared over his shoulder, his feet never stopping. "However, that's your mess, you clean it. I only care about Global Justice's fall, which is yet to be finalized. So I am going to take advantage of this disaster and the list of locations my men acquired while undercover and finish the job. I couldn't care less about the rest of you, the girl or a boy who doesn't even know I'm involved in your little stunts. Don't call me again." With that, he spared everyone in the room one last 'greater than thou' sneer before the door sealed shut.

"Charming, isn't he?" Monkey Fist stated dryly as most others glared at the door.

"Not to mention single minded. But he does still have a point." Dementor mused, rubbing his chin. "Global Justice was hit hard, cripplingly so, but that won't be enough to end them and they're more vulnerable now than they ever have been before or will be again. And as you said, Drakken, they are the real threat, not some hyped up cheerleader." He added, throwing a pointed look at Spectra, challenging her to disagree with him, before turning to his own minions. "Men, let's clear out! We're going to see if Gemini will share those base locations."

"Yes sir!"

'_Damn it!'_ Spectra almost screamed and burst from Drakken's pathetic body right then and there. She was so tempted to block the entrance and pummel all would-be deserters into submission. Even if this was predicted even before the Wong boy and this ridiculous alteration was brought up, she had really hoped that selling the new brat's level of threat would encourage a little more help from the most difficult ones. Instead, Gemini simply didn't care, confident in his obscurity, and Dementor…

"You do realize of course, that Kim's little friends will figure out your involvement, right Professor Demented?" Spectra called casually after him, smirking victoriously as he froze in place. "After all, transportation through the phone lines is a remarkable feat, one that only you have developed and Kim Possible's crew know it. Plus, you are intelligent, enough so to come up with this whole scheme yourself and since I'm 'out of the game', all the evidence suggests that you're the one behind all of this. So if we fail to capture Henry Wong and end Team Possible for good before they come to and share that conclusion…" Oh, Spectra loved it when that realization turned to fear and dread. She couldn't stop herself from moving in close and feeding off of him as his whole body sagged with a defeated sigh.

"Very well, Drakken. I'll assist you a bit longer.

"Excellent! Now, what of the rest of you?" Spectra grinned, turning her attention back to the rest of the room.

"Who cares if we're adding one more squeeb to the list?" Gil declared, forcing his way to the middle of the room. "As long as I get Ron, then all I have to say is get on with it already!"

"Getting a meddler with that kind of ability out of our hair could only be a benefit." Senor Senior nodded his agreement, pushing his son forward. "Junior, make your father proud!"

"What? Father! Why must I go if you are not?"

Spectra simply laughed in victory as those around her, one by one, voiced their acceptance. She had them. Vlad's stupid alteration hadn't jeopardized the end goal. At least not yet. She could still get her extended global cesspool of misery. And to top it off, now that she thought about it, this mission would put her right in the middle of the buffet at its peak.

Vlad just dodged another bullet. She couldn't wait to get out there.

...

"YES! I did it!" Wade couldn't stop himself for whooping for joy as he stared at his screen, his fists swinging up in victory. He'd done it! It had been more than a little difficult, even for him, following the fluctuations. They were crazy fast and their routes twisted and turned like hell, but he'd done it! He'd found the end point, the single place every single surge ended. Even the Go city surges could be traced to the same place! A...mountain cave in the middle of nowhere?

That brought a frown to his face. That wasn't Dementor's MO. And while plenty of Kim's adversaries had out of the way locations, making a lair out of a cave was more Drakken's thing. But he was out of the game and never once went after Team Go. Shego even helped fight off the bad guys, there was no way they were involved in this. Maybe it was the ghost's haunt? But then, why would it have a phone line? And now that he thought about it, wasn't this Drakken's...

That concern however, was completely forgotten a second later as a mass of surges, one after the after and coming in by the dozens, practically exploded through the phone lines.

"Oh no!" He hadn't found them in time. They were on the move.

"Wade?" The boy didn't so much as blink as Jazz's concerned voice snuck up behind him. He just kept on practically attacking his keyboard, trying to follow the surges' path. "What's wrong? You're really pale. And are you even seeing what's on that screen before it disappears?" She asked, squinting over his shoulder.

"All the attacks are from the same group and I didn't find them in time." Wade shouted, growing more panicked by the second. "They're sending a huge group to their next target and I can't stop them! They're moving too fast, I don't know where they're going and even if I did, if I shut down the phone lines now, I'd probably kill everyone travelling the line."

"The phone teleporters?" Jazz asked nervously, her grip tightening over the back of Wade's chair. "So what can we do?"

"Nothing until it's probably already too late." Wade stated, his voice only growing more distressed. "Their path is so sporadic, I haven't got a clue where they'll...hang on. Oh God." Both teens could only stare, dumbstruck and terrified as the monitor finally slowed down and settled over Japan and into a very particular city as the surges disappeared one by one, until none remained. "They all came here. They're in Metro City."

* * *

**AN: **And we're back! Hope you enjoy the third and final arc of this story.

**Fantasycrest**, better late than never. Thanks for the review I'm glad you like it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Target Tech**

"Got another four! Easy there, son, you're all ok now."

Henry just rolled his eyes and gently pushed an elderly woman towards the man's arms before turning back the way he came, blatantly ignoring the rescue team trying to call him back. They were still doing that too frequently and it was holding him up. He didn't have time to explain, there were still far too many people to get to.

Not that he couldn't use the rest. He'd been at this for about an hour now, moving as fast as he could, gathering every trapped, lost or injured person he could find and guiding them safely to evacuation points. His energy reserves were getting low and the constant use of his powers was giving him one hell of a migraine, but he pressed on anyway. He had to. No one else could move with his ease throughout the area, or find stable paths for the civilians, to say nothing for those trapped. Bringing in the equipment and machines needed to save those trapped in the rubble was still an impossibility and would be for a good long time. Far too long for far too many to survive without help. There were enough dead bodies to find already and the number was only rising by the minute.

Taking off at a run, Henry headed back the way he came and scanned the area for more people. The area had always been far too compacted with people for him to hope he'd even found a fraction of the people nearby. A point proven to be true as another hand rose into the air.

"He…he…p-please he-lp!"

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" Henry called, making a beeline for him. Fortunately, the area around the latest victim seemed to be pretty stable, making it a lot quicker and easier to reach the guy than most.

It looked like this guy was one of the luckier ones. He was pinned down by a large chunk of concrete on his back, but other than that, there wasn't too much concern. The area around him was very firm and what could be seen of his body didn't appear to be injured much, if at all. Even his back could only require a little attention as most of the block's weight also seemed to be supported by the rubble around him. In fact, there was very high chance that his weak voice might have just been the pressure making it hard to breathe or even just shock or exhaustion.

Another act of fortune was that the block didn't turn out to be too heavy at all. Upon reaching the guy, Henry was able to lift and toss it aside with ease. That was great, it significantly lessened the chances of unseen damage. As long as the initial impact hadn't caused internal damage, then he should recover just fine.

"T-t-thank you."

"My pleasure." Henry replied, kneeling beside the gasping guy. Running gentle hands over his back, Henry grinned in relief at the absence of swelling or broken bones. "Let's get you to safety. Are you able to stand?"

"Yes, I believe I can." He answered weakly, slowly pulling himself up as Henry wrapped a supporting arm around him. "Thank you…" However, just as he got halfway, he spun like lightning out of Henry's grip and snagged the boy from behind, making Henry immediately freeze as a knife was placed at his neck. "For making this so easy, Henry Wong."

"What?" Henry cried, turning his eyes toward his attacker. "You know who I am? What do you want?"

"You out of the way, so I'm clear to go after the outsider who got me banished." The man answered, making a point to poke Henry with the point of his blade hard enough to draw blood when he shifted. He took the warning and stopped moving, but he still managed to get a good look at the guy. A Japanese boy in his late teens or early twenties with his hair tied up at the top of his head and traditional martial arts robes under his jacket. Which was hiding a lot of small weapons.

Over all, Henry was not impressed with him or his answer. "Unless your 'outsider' is in this mess, I'm already as out of the way as it gets. Now stop wasting my time, I've got lives to save."

"Careful, foreigner. I think you have forgotten who's in control here." The rogue snarled, poking his neck again.

"Actually," Henry started slowly, his eyes sharpening a second before they started glowing green. "I haven't. I just gave you a chance." His assailant didn't even have time to blink before a jerking on the blade ripped it away from Henry and a fist had slammed into his thigh. He started to scream, but before he could even finish that, the same arm elbowed him in the jaw before he was snagged by his newly disarmed and flailing arm and tossed over Henry's shoulder and into the ground.

Henry didn't relax however, for before thump occurred, multiple small, black figures surged at him from all directions. Twisting his back to avoid the first one and pivoting between the next two, Henry instinctively curved and swung his arms as he spun on the spot, landing open palmed chops to two more before finally bringing his spinning to a halt and launching forward with an open palm of the last attacker, landing it solidly into his belly and sending it flying away. With all of them stunned or evaluating him in after what he'd to their allies, he was finally able to do the same and couldn't stop himself from raising an eyebrow. His latest opponents were ninja garbed…monkey's? '_This is getting weird.'_

However, that did trigger a realization that came just in time to throw up his arm and block a foot with opposable toes and fling the owner back with a glare as his new enemy landed cleanly on three limbs like an ape.

"If my memory is accurate, you go by Monkey Fist, right?" Henry asked, shifting his stance and his eyes as the monkeys prepared around him. "So I guess my would-be killer was your new hired help?"

"More like returning help." Monkey Fist smirked, shifting into an attack stance of his own. "Though I guess 'help' is a bit of a stretch right now. I'm curious, how did you disarm Fukudashi? You didn't touch it and there's no electronics in a blade."

"I guess there's more to me than you know." Henry calmly replied before smoothly blocking an attacking monkey from behind and grabbing him by the tail, swinging it into the next one while simultaneously kicking a third back into the leaping forth one. All before leaping into an aerial flip, dodging a swooping Monkey Fist, and landing as gently as a leaf on very precarious looking pile of rubble. He was quickly pursued by the few monkeys capable of getting back to their feet, however, that was quickly brought to an end when Henry kicked the pile and smacked every one of them back to the ground and unconscious with the debris before dropping into a stance before Monkey Fist again.

"Impressive. Perhaps even enough to cause me concern." Monkey Fist admitted, leaping in on one hand and lashing out with kicks while the other attempted to snag Henry's leg as he used open palm strikes and sidesteps to deflect or avoid every one.

"Trust me." Henry grunted, batting away a backfist as Monkey Fist spun himself back to his feet before pulling his fist back. "You've made a mistake."

Monkey Fist just smirked as he slid back to avoid the jab, however, it was quickly replaced with an anguished scream as single burst of green energy exploded against his torso and sent him careening into a broken wall. Grunting in pain, it proved quite the struggle just to sit up and glare at the boy raising a fist him, a single barrel raised from his gauntlet and the green glow of his narrowed eyes dulling back to grey. "And here I thought…you were an honorable fighter." He couldn't help but wheeze.

"Normally, yes. However, honor has no place in life or death and I've wasted enough time with you already." Henry retorted, grabbing a metal pipe and bending it in his hands as he approached the down villain. "This area seems pretty stable, so I'd say I can leave you here for now while I help with the rescue, but don't worry. I'll have you in the capable hands of the authorities before too long."

"Oh, I'm not worried, rest assured." Said Monkey Fist, flashing Henry a pained smirk. "We're far from done here."

"You're beaten." Henry stated firmly. "The only concern left for me here is whether I get charged for animal cruelty."

"True, if we were the main force." Monkey Fist's smirk only grew as the flinching villain suddenly forced his legs up, wrapped his feet around Henry's arms and pulled the unprepared boy down to his knees. "We were just the most surefooted."

Henry didn't have so much as the chance to gasp before that claim was vindicated by something slamming into his back and electrifying his body.

….

"_We are now an hour in since the world was rocked by twenty simultaneous explosions and rescue operations are well underway. Most affected countries are still struggling with determining how to safely cross the terrain, however, there has been some success. Washington DC America appears to be getting assistance from multiple strange creatures that have sporadically appeared around the country over the last six and half years. Some places, including Sydney Australia and Berlin Germany, have miraculously reported that their explosions were far less damaging and in much less densely populated areas. Their responses are already well underway and so far have generated low casualty rates. _

"_Meanwhile, here in Metro city, while we have the biggest sinkhole on record, search and rescue responses have been much better than expected and we appear to have Capsule Corp to thank. Not only has the Briefs family deployed their line of new hover cars to assist with difficult locations, but a young man that we have confirmed came from the company has been redefining the term one man army. Many citizens have been successfully evacuated from the calamity by the boy that they described as a late teen of Chinese descent in an orange vest."_

"_The wall was crumbling on us and then he appears out of nowhere…"_

"I'm on it, chief! I'm only waiting for my other test pilots to arrive and five more hover vehicles will be on their way." Bulma declared as she reentered the lab, winking at her phone screen.

"The Metro City police force is incredibly grateful, Miss Briefs. I thank you again." The chief replied before apparently hanging up.

"It's a shame this tech's still so new." Jazz sighed, offering Bulma a cup of coffee that she accepted with a thankful smile. "You have almost a whole fleet, but too few people are qualified to drive them."

"I know. Talk about a wasted asset." Bulma sighed, taking a long sip of her mug. "Of course, they're not the only ones. This also just had to happen while all of the Z Fighters are out of town! Videl's on her way, but she was across the country, so she'll take a while. Goten and Trunks are at Chichi's and I doubt they even know what's happened, not that I'm sure that they're mature enough to safely help with this anyway, and apparently Gohan's in China. If anything, he'll go help in Hong Kong."

"Ron would have been a great help too." Wade commented from behind them, where he was still searching for the villains' exit point. "He could have made all of the debris float up and away, clear paths. And throw it at whatever army's coming our way." He added darkly, drawing the girls' attention back to his work.

"Any luck on finding their new location yet?" Bulma asked with a sigh. That was just another reason she wanted to throttle Vegeta and the other Z Fighters right now. If the very people who attacked Go City were also the ones that blew up twenty major Global Justice bases, a fact that was still being hidden from social media, and they were all here, then they could really use their powerhouses right now. Their supply of heroes has gone from well stocked to short staffed at the worst possible time.

"No. Not a trace." Wade groaned, surprising the others as he actually stopped typing and rested his head into his arms. "The phone lines are going absolutely crazy right now! Everyone's trying to track down loved ones or organize responses or whatever and it's so much that even the fluctuations' readings are completely drowned out once they reach the city. They could be literally anywhere and who knows what they want?"

"It might have simply been an escape attempt." Jazz offered. She figured someone needed to stay optimistic. "After all, they did leave their evidence of teleportation behind in Go City. Maybe they realized that we'd found them out and fled to a place they knew they'd be hard to track in."

"Yeah, I suppose it is a possibility, but we still need to be prepared." Said Bulma. "After all, they have chosen the city that Wade's in. If Kim is a target, like Global Justice theorized, then Wade could be an objective too. In addition to that, there isn't a thief alive that wouldn't love to get their hands on Capsule Corp tech and it would take a small army to try and steal from us, even without our alien macho men around. That's why I had my dad tighten our security. This kind of chaos is perfect for a lot more than just hiding and scattering, after all."

"Like attacking someone out in the open." Wade added, slowly raising his paling head.

"Well, yeah, but what would make you think that of all things?" Bulma asked with a concerned frown. Wade just raised a finger to the news broadcast in response. Turning their attention back to the screen, the girls could only gasp and cry out in panic.

"_In devastating turn of events, it appears that our new hero is being surrounded and attacked."_

….

"Uuhhh!" Well, that was unpleasant. It was also embarrassing. Someone actually got a working taser close enough to use it against him. At the risk of sounding like Ryo, he sure hoped Rika never heard a word of that or he'd never hear the end of it.

"He's still conscious."

"We have an audience."

"Grab him."

Ok, he couldn't let that go on. He had to get back into gear. Every fiber of his being was burning from the jolt, but he'd have to just walk it off. After he used it to his advantage. After all, the thugs above him were confused by his wakeful state for good reason. On the average person, the question would be less about if the victim was conscious and more about whether he'd survive being struck by an electrical surge that powerful. Henry, however…

He could channel the electricity.

Forcing his body to relax for just a moment as red clad arms picked him up, Henry took every bit of external energy he managed to store before it dissipated and released it all at once.

"Wha-AAHHH!" Five men, all in red body suits and wielding electrified staffs found their weapons crashing into their bodies and flinging them away with a flash of green. The rest found the ground ripped from under them as metal debris was expelled from the area too, send them all plummeting to the ground.

Not giving his latest startled captor a chance to respond, Henry snapped his foot out and struck him on the back of the ankle before slamming his elbow into his back as the screaming thug fell, leaving him groaning in the dirt.

"You know…I'm sick of these sneak attacks." Henry growled between breaths, shaking the tension out of his body as the other grunts in red got back to their feet. "There are still far too many people who need help out here, so I'll give you one more chance to walk away unscathed. I suggest you take it."

"Not a chance, Bub!" The biggest one retorted, already charging right in. With that said, Henry's only response was to do the same. He'd tried the peaceful way, but if they weren't open to it, then he didn't have the time or energy to waste on them any longer than he had to. So that meant throttling them.

The thug shifted his staff for a stab, but before the two even met, a flicker of green on Henry had it spinning up and smacking the guy in the head with enough force to see stars before flying out of his now lax grip and into Henry's as the boy ran by, pushing the guy hard into a pile of rubble on his way to the next one.

More wary now, the others tried ganging up on him, some even tossing their clearly compromising weapons aside, but it still proved a futile effort. Blocking one guy's staff with his own, Henry easily overpowered him and sent the staff flying up as the thug fell back into an ally before kicking the third in the gut, easily sidestepping the fourth before snagging and tossing him and sweeping the fifth's feet from under him before giving him a quick, nonlethal jab of the staff's electrical current. The others charging in seemed a little more keen to keep their distance now and started tossing their staffs like spears, but with a single glare from Henry, every one already airborne had its electrical currents suddenly blow up and out, leaving them flailing in the air and harmlessly deflected by Henry's own staff, while those still holding theirs screamed as the electricity surged and struck them and left them twitching on the ground, effectively halving their numbers.

"Just what is this guy?"

"Trouble, man. Trouble." Henry just charged in at that, eliciting a couple of screams as the still standing thugs immediately halted their own charge and tried to scramble the other way. However, before they could get anywhere, Henry tossed his own staff like a javelin, sending it ploughing into the side a shaky pile of rubble and sending it crashing down right in front of the thugs, cutting off their escape. The men in red could only quake in their boots as their young adversary aerial flipped in between them and instantly started a fast series of chops, elbows, kicks and backhands. Within seconds, all of them were on the ground either groaning in pain or unconscious.

"Hai! You will make a worthy opponent." However, before Henry could even blink, another dark mass appeared out of nowhere. Spinning around, Henry's eyes widened in horror as a flash of metal filled his vision.

"AAHHH!" It was only by the miracle that was unstable terrain and a loss of focus that Henry didn't lose his head. Stumbling back, the boy found himself slipping and falling as rubble beneath his feet rolled away, narrowly avoiding the kill with a knick near his ear. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the rocks and metal scraps ripped into his hands and back, Henry flung himself into a roll to avoid a stomp before forcing his body into a sweep kick, forcing his newest attacker back just long enough to get a good look at him before flinging up his arm to block the katana with his gauntlet. "I thought Kim already put you back in jail?"

"No jail can hold me! I am ninja! I am strong as a mountain." The Sumo Ninja exclaimed, shifting his blade as he put more pressure down on it.

"You need a new line." Was all Henry said as his other arm shot up with a flash of green. The overweight ninja just gaped for a second as his blade was separated from its hilt before being blasted back with a scream. Though it wasn't nearly as affective as Henry thought it would be, for the Sumo Ninja quickly pulled himself back to his feet and stared warily at the energy blade coming from Henry's left arm's gauntlet and the four barrels that had been extended on its twin.

'_What the?'_ That didn't seem right. _'Normally after that shot, they stay down. I'm usually worried that shot will break ribs and damage vital organs. How is he-'_

"FOUR!" He didn't get the chance to finish that thought, for a second later, white projectiles were causing explosions all around him.

"GAH!" Blown right off his feet by the blast and pelted by debris it was ripping up and around him, Henry struggled just to get his bearings as he crashed down and rolled, only stopping as his shoulder slammed into an upright pipe. Biting his lip at the pain, Henry opted to just be grateful he'd ran into it rather than onto it and used it to help get back to his feet as he followed a maniacal laugh to find a pudgy man in a kilt standing on a large, fallen building.

"I shoot a good game, don't cha think, laddie?" The man, who could only be Duff Killigan, called down, already setting up more golfballs. "You never know where ma backspin will take it. FOUR!"

He wasted no time taking his club to the balls, even as the Sumo Ninja started his own next move, but this time, Henry was ready. With a simple wave of his hand and his eyes alighting again, Duff found himself screaming in terror as the balls curved back and exploded in the air, knocking him right off his perch, leaving Henry plenty of time to grab the kick coming his way and throw the big guy over his shoulder and…through the ground?

As unprepared and confused as he was for that, he didn't have to ponder it however, for even when he was in motion, he'd caught sight of another eight men, these ones already shooting darts from the distance, and was forced to move aside.

"Just how many people _have_ they got after me?" Henry growled, glaring up at the new bunch as he took cover behind an upturned truck. The ones were wearing dominantly grey suits with a small red triangle on their chest and seemed to be far more fit than the red thugs from before. They were clearly smarter too, they weren't using mechanized weaponry to fight him and they were keeping their distance so he couldn't use his superior strength and agility against them.

'_But still, they're only kidding themselves now.'_ He thought as the group prepped another round. They were out in the open and far too comfortable at the high ground. So, despite the terrain, there was no risk to anyone but his targets as Henry activated all of his gun barrels.

"Gargo Mega!" Jumping straight up onto a truck, Henry thrust his arms up and unleashed a barrage of bullet sized blasts, blanketing the latest batch of thugs and blowing them all back the way they came and, if their screams and thumps were anything to go on, down an apparently very steep fall. "That was easy. Maybe I gave them more credit than they deserved." Henry mused, frowning at where they'd been before. "I was expecting some kind of decent response."

"Such as keeping you distracted?" Another, heavily accented voice called from the left. Whipping around, Henry tensed as he spotted Professor Dementor with what looked like a Fenton Bazooka knockoff aimed, charged and already firing right at him.

"Oh nuts!" Henry was stuck. He was wide in the open, there was no way to slip away in time and as the electrical blast was already coming at him, mentally mangling the machine was pointless. Therefore there was only one thing left to try. So, Henry raised both of his gauntlets and targeted the incoming shot, preying he could charge enough energy in time. Mega Barrage!"

Every barrel simultaneously unleashed a green beam and sent them to meet the threat. Most converged into each other and crashed right into the opposing blast, bringing it to an abrupt halt while one from each arm bypassed it entirely and flew straight from the now wide eyed and terrified Professor Dementor.

"NO-ARGH!" He was blown right off his feet and sent spinning far away through the wreckage by the one that hit his left shoulder and upper chest, but in retrospect, that probably did him a favor. For it allowed for a little distance as the other made a direct hit with his bazooka which barely had any time to fly in the opposite direction before it blew it up. A display that was only magnified as the main cluster of Henry's beams, no longer impeded by the shut down blast, crashed right into the area with a huge boom and even more flying dust and debris.

Quickly cutting off his own attack, Henry couldn't stop himself from noticeably sagging and stumbling. He'd been pushing it for far too long even before this fight began and Mega Barrage was never a move to make lightly. He'd used more power than he knew he had and now his body had had enough. His breath was ragged and his knees were weak. It was taking a lot just to stay on his feet and his ability to maintain his stability was well and truly gone. His senses weren't much better. He was growing lightheaded and his mind wasn't registering everything he heard or saw properly. If this kept up, he could very well pass out before the next round.

Which was a serious problem, because the Sumo Ninja clearly either was or was possessed by the ghost accomplice Global Justice had revealed to them. Intangibility was the only way his disappearing trick made sense. He didn't even know if he could take down a ghost at his best!

"HA!" Speaking of the devil, he chose just that moment to appear out of nowhere again. Stumbling back with a yelp, it was only Henry's lack of balance leaving him falling backward that once again saved him from a very deadly fist. Sadly, it did nothing to stop the spin kick that followed a second later.

"GAUGH!" Pain exploded through Henry's side as he was sent almost bouncing across the rubble, its sharp edges ripping and tearing at his skin and clothes, until he smacked into and rolled up a fallen tree trunk. It was a struggle just to breathe, it felt like his lungs had frozen in place for a moment before the sensation was viciously replaced by hacking up bile. Though, he guessed he should be thankful he wasn't spitting up blood. After that blow, that was a miracle in itself. Though he was still losing blood from plenty of other places right now, most notably from a cut on his head. The red liquid running down his forehead was only making it harder to see.

"He is done! Victory is ours!" The Sumo Ninja cheered, raising a fist into the air as he almost swaggered his way across the battle field. Henry would have scowled at the display of arrogance if he wasn't fighting just to remain conscious. However, even that was a fast, losing battle. His vision was only dulling further and his body was growing more and more unresponsive. It would only be moments now before he'd pass out.

'_Damn it! Not now._' He honestly wanted to cry, but he was well passed that point. '_I didn't even finish what I started. There are so many peop…_'

It was at that moment that his wandering eye caught sight of it. A hand sticking out of the rubble. It was so small, definitely a child's. He hadn't seen any of it before, but this area had had a lot of debris tossed around in the last few minutes. They must have unearthed a buried victim…who was still alive! The hand was moving, weakly clawing at the world around it, trying to dig out. And it was right in the Sumo Ninja's path. He wasn't paying any attention to the ground whatsoever and even if he did, he wouldn't care. He was going to step on it, leave the child for dead and continue to Henry.

'_Over my dead body!'_ At that moment, it was like a damn had burst open inside the technopath. His vision cleared and narrowed as he forced his lungs to take in air. A sudden surge of energy flooded through his veins and practically propelling him back to his feet, startling the Sumo Ninja into a complete stop just inches from the child, if only for a moment before he prepared to charge again.

Henry refused to let that happen. Every fiber in his being was screaming the same thing; save the child no matter what, and that's exactly what he was going to do. He had no idea where this energy came from, but he was going to use every drop of it to take out every single thing that dared to threaten that child. Starting with the ninja.

Even Henry had no clue how he did what happened next. One second he was standing by the fallen tree, the next, green energy exploded from all around him and he flew straight at the Sumo Ninja with a flying kick at the speed of a bullet. The ninja's eyes bugged right out of his mask as the shot hit right in the gut, sending him flying away. In addition, a car went zooming right after him, while metal scraps were violently ripped from the ground and flew in all directions. The resulting crashes was thunderous, but Henry didn't pay any of it any mind, having already whipped around and started digging for the kid, not even noticing the glow around his body or that the metal around him was still rising. Though that did make the excavation a lot easier and it was only a moment later that he was safely pulling up a gasping, coughing, very weak little boy out of the wreckage.

"Hey there. Don't worry, you're going to be ok." He muttered a soothingly as he could, wrapping the poor child snugly to his chest and rubbing circles into his back as the boy just cried into his shoulder, clinging to him as tightly as his weak and battered form could. While ensuring the kid had no obvious, significant injuries, Henry looked up to the sky. Multiple helicopters were hovering around the area. They were all from the media, but that was expected. The others were prepared for rescue, not the battle field this had turned into, and there were still countless people needing help elsewhere. Attempts to help here were too much of a risk for everyone. That was fine though. It didn't matter who they were, they would suffice as long as they came down.

The only problem was that they wouldn't land here. The area had only grown even more unstable with all the shifting metal and collapsing piles and, on top of that, there was no way to tell if all the villains were down for the count. At the very least, he knew Monkey Fist was still conscious and who knew about the others? No, he had to find another, more stable location.

So, without even thinking about it, he narrowed his eyes on the flattest area he could find, ignored what sounded like a heap of metal slamming together behind him and started leaping right for it with the same crazy speed he'd used to take out the Sumo Ninja. The booming clang of metal following him with every step he took, it took no time at all to cross entire fields to his destination.

The moment he was sure of mutual safety, he turned his attention back to the nearest helicopter and waved at it, motioning down and pointing to the kid. It took a couple minutes of hesitation from the crew and a few more demanding signals from the irritated Henry before he decided enough was enough and mentally reached out to the controls himself, thankful that the thing was flying low enough for his range.

Not even waiting for the helicopter to touch the ground, Henry ignored the group's spluttering and shoved the child into the arms of the reporter. However, before he could jump in himself, a scream from the pilot had him whipping his head around to find the damn Sumo Ninja already after him again. That settled it, he was possessed. He'd gone down to Team Possible far too easily to be able to get back up after what Henry did to him without supernatural help. And if that was the case, then flight was well within his power. Getting on the helicopter himself would only endanger everyone else in it. "Get him out of here! NOW!" The pilot needed no help with that demand, the second Henry let go of his mental hold on the controls, he had them taking off at top speed. In mere moments, they were a speck in the air.

Unfortunately for Henry, that was the end of his strength. He had just long enough to sigh in relief as the kid made it to safety before it felt like every drop of energy that appeared was sucked away. His vision was dulling, the pain coursing his body was returning fast and his limbs felt so heavy, a weight matched by his eyelids. It took everything he had just to raise his left up try to charge power into his gauntlet. There was no way he'd get any power to the one barrel he did miraculously manage to activate, but it was all he could do. Any attempt to move any more would simply have him collapsing. A single shot was his only hope.

The attempt ended in vein anyway, for before he could even make a spark, a black blur surrounded in a blue glow slammed into the gauntlet and smashed multiple barrels right off of it, leaving Henry screaming as the force of the blow sent waves up his arm and sent him flying back. A second later, a swampy coloured blur appeared right in front of him and spat what looked like a giant loogie at him, binding his entire body. Pointlessly, really. Henry barely made it to the ground before his exhaustion consumed him and his vision completely faded out.

….

Vlad had to admit, that turned out to be a lot harder than he'd expected. Every one of those who'd fought were well battered. It was a miracle they hadn't lost any one, other than the Sumo Ninja anyway. It was very fortunate that Bertrand had decided to overshadow the guy again and take him from his cell, for without the ghost, they may never have stood a chance. Even so, that host was far too injured to help any more, to the point where Bertrand had to resort to shapeshifting into him just to pursue their target. Hopefully, no one would notice the overweight man they were leaving behind until it's too late. As it was, his pawns were struggling to get everyone else and their prize out of the area as police and military forces finally came into view. They had no choice but to leave that loose end behind.

"So, the boy has more going for him than I thought." Vlad mused, rubbing his chin as he watched the news clips of the fight. "The skill set I was aware of suggested that this terrain should have given our team the advantage. I should have realized that you might have been packing something like this though. Some kind of electro-magnetic ability it seems." That would explain how he could move machine parts and wires together, items that couldn't possibly move themselves, without touching them. Vlad had seen him do it while spying plenty of times. There was just nothing from his records suggesting he could do anything this big. Well then, that made things more difficult for Vlad too. He needed to start preparing an answer to his new problem immediately. He needed a new holding place, fast. After all, he likely needed Henry conscious for what he wanted and it wouldn't do to have any metal he could use as a weapon anywhere near him.

Fortunately, he already had an idea.


	15. Chapter 15

**Spectra's Losing It**

"Drakken, you incompetent buffoon! We could have lost more than half of our forces to that one brat!" To say Professor Dementor was upset was more than an understatement, and Spectra truly could relate, but if he spat in her face one more time, regardless of it being a host's, then screw the consequences to the plan, she was going to rip his tongue out.

"Then how about instead of getting up in my face, you coordinate the first aid committee?" Though the need to keep their pawns didn't stop her from ensnaring the man with Drakken's vine and flinging him toward the mentioned group, or relishing in his next scream. Watching him land face first with his butt in the air, practically begging to be kicked, almost made the whole ordeal worth it.

Most of Drakken's thugs involved were either still out cold or nursing notable sprains and swellings. One guy was still struggling to make comprehensible words after being electrocuted. Dementor's deployed guards were all looking more like mummies than henchmen now. The shot they'd taken were heavy enough, but a great deal more damage came from a plethora of thumps and lacerations on their way down the debris. Fukushima declared that he was fine, but he was still walking abnormally. Spectra didn't even need the fact that he was feeding her nicely to know that he was still in pain, or that he was trying to hide his humiliation with bravado. It was written all over him.

Fortunately, Monkey Fist was recovering quickly, as were his monkey ninjas, and Duff was only stunned by his returned attack. Dementor was struggling to use his arm, but it was already deemed nothing serious and Gil didn't take a hit, having only gotten involved at the last second, so that was something.

But still, this went far too wrong, far too quickly. Vlad had promised them serious advantages and yet the boy had dominated the entire fight. All thanks to an ability that Vlad never even mentioned he had. And what an ability it was. The power to manipulate metal, to turn their own destruction and weapons against them. If Bertrand hadn't gotten involved, they never would have stood a chance, even if everyone else had made it to the party.

They had been horribly unprepared for they were facing. To make matters worse, they were unprepared to hold their new prisoner. Which meant that this one boy and Vlad's incompetence had caused multiple significant strikes against the already flimsy confidence the other villains had placed in their plan.

Something the new location was not helping to remedy.

"If you are done throwing help around the room, perhaps you could tell us why we are still here?" Monkey Fist grunted, his eyes forever flickering all around the room. Not that that was new. Spectra had noticed his erratic twitching ever since he realized just how close this mission brought him to his old stone prison. When he wasn't moaning in pain, he was almost forever muttering about the Yono. "If the newest meddling boy wakes up now, there may not be a thing we can do to stop him."

"In his condition? Please, it'd be an easy task to knock him back out." Spectra shrugged it right off. Though that wasn't because she actually believed it, but rather because it was now critical that her associates saw nothing but pure certainty. Dementor was one thing, he was now caught by incriminating evidence, but others were still free to scatter. The new reports were going wild identifying those who made it to the fight before it was over, but they were yet to be confirmed to have assisted in anything worse than they'd done before and could simply scatter back to their hidey holes while the rest were still completely free to disappear. They were only here for a desire to see Kim Possible out of their hair forever and it would only take so many failures on her (meaning Vlad's) end for them to deem it not worth the risk. Such as the one Monkey Fist had just brought up.

It was true after all. If the brat woke up here, her squad could be toast.

At first, it was the perfect location. It was an old factory in the outskirts of the city and their phone line exit was more than five blocks away, more than far enough under the current circumstances, despite Wade no doubt watching their arrival. The place was long abandoned, well rusted and starting to show signs of falling apart. It was, without a doubt, deserted not long after broadband was just becoming a common thing at the earliest and all working equipment had been either cleaned out or left far too damaged to function. Even the lights didn't work. On top of that, the nearest source of wifi was a block away and any gear they'd brought with them was being stashed elsewhere with Motor Ed and the Seniors. It was the perfect place to hold a technopath.

Unfortunately, it was also almost entirely made of weathered and rusting metal, making it a magnetic's playground. Judging from the condition of the place and what she'd seen of his power before, Spectra doubted it would take longer than a few seconds for him to bring the whole place crashing down upon them if he wanted to.

"But don't you need him conscious for something?" Monkey Fist asked, growing a little snappish as he followed Spectra over to the problem child in question. "Wasn't that the point of keeping him alive? I'd assume you need him to give you information."

"For another project, yes. But him being seen taken alive is all we need for our mutual goal." Spectra answered, taking out the silver cutlass as she reached Henry. However, much to the surprise of everyone watching, rather than stab him to death, she bent down and put the glowing blade to the ooze containing him.

"Hey shrimpy, what do you think you're doing?" Gil cried, stomping his way quickly over. "Don't free him! As long as he stays like that-"

"The goop you fired will mutate him, as its source did to you." Spectra interrupted him, freezing him in place as she pointed the blade at him. "And while I don't care about ruining his chances at a Friday night date, I'd rather not risk making him any more powerful than he already is. Besides," She added, turning back to cutting Henry free. "Monkey Fist only broke one gauntlet. He could probably use the other one escape anyway. It has to be removed. Along with a few other things."

Smirking as she finished splitting the cocoon down the front, she immediately pulled him off of it and went to work on the gauntlets, taking care to use her intangibility on him as subtly as she could to remove any remaining goop in the process. It took a few moments to find and manipulate the latches, but they slipped off easily enough. Carelessly tossing the busted left one across the room, she set the other one aside before moving on to unzipping his ripped and tattered vest.

"Ok, not that I'm minding the eye candy, but why are you now stripping him?" Camille Leon asked, raising an eyebrow as Spectra moved on to Henry's shirt, carefully pulling it over his head.

"Because we will need them for the next step of my plan." She answered, moving on to the boy's shoes and socks before rising back up and patting down his legs. A dark smirk grew she hit something hard before reaching into his pocket. Fingers wrapping around cold metal, she pulled it out to find a strangely shaped white device with a green strap at the top and ring around the screen. There was no doubt that this was what Vlad wanted, though why or how you used it was a mystery to her. But whatever. Figuring it out was Vlad's problem, she just had to make sure she got something good before handing it over. After all the crap and tweaks she had to deal with from him alone on this job, her rewards were starting to feel like a rip off.

"So we were to bring him back so people could see him disappear and gather his ragged clothing?" Hank asked, a deep frown crossing his face. "If you wanted rags, we could have just used the one dollar schemer's. Though, I guess the boy's probably smell better." He added, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

"Hey, rude! I'm out of detergent and Smarty Mart's clothing and cleaning sales aren't till next week. Francis Lurmanexclaimed, crossing his arms with a huff.

"While I do agree that Francis should just go rob a store down the road, you missed the point." Spectra stated as she removed their captives pants and gathered everything back up. As she double checked that the noise and movement hadn't stirred him, she took a second to consider taking his underwear too and feed off his embarrassment and humiliation before shrugging the idea off. She was already bursting with the fear, dread and desperation that bathed the city, she wouldn't even notice his mortification amongst it all.

"Then what is the point!" Dementor snapped, glaring daggers at Drakken.

"That grabbing specific clothes is a point of clarification. Especially when someone's just 'miraculously escaped his abductors'." Spectra replied before narrowing her smirk right on the only girl in the conversation. "Authenticity is a major key to fashion and circumstance, particularly when you're pulling off a ruse. Isn't that right, Camille?"

"What? You want me to wear those rags? Um, eww!" Camilleexclaimed, waving her hand in disgust. "That outfit was a travesty before it got sweaty and ruined. Anything with orange is already an immediate reject and he actually matched it up with black and brown? I wouldn't be caught dead in clothes that trashy!"

"You'll do it because you have too." Spectra snarled right in her face, forcing the garments into her arms. "You are going in and destroying any hope Capsule Corp still currently has of stopping us from the inside. Do you understand me?"

"Fine. Whatev's." That was more like it. Spectra never got over bending people to her desires, especially when it upset them. Even if it did take Bertrand momentarily overshadowing her target and putting the thought of conceding into their heads.

"Wait a moment, Drakken!" Dementor cried with a glare. "Why are you sending her to Capsule Corp? We've got the technopath, what more could we possibly need from them to end Kim Possible? What could possibly be worth the risk of going to the front door of the very people that even scared Gemini?"

"Something very special." Spectra replied, turning back to the whole group with a dark smirk showing far more confidence than she had. This was it, the make or break point. The point where they'd either be in until the end or this whole operation fell apart. "The perfect stage for Kim Possible's demise."

….

"_Rescue and law enforcement are still searching, however no sign of the team of recognized criminals or the young savior they attacked has been found. Evidence has to come to light, suggesting this very group may have been significantly involved in the mass explosions and have therefore been declared a top priority, however the number of people still trapped in Metro City's disaster zone and the general stability around it has left the police force incapable of finding any leads. As such, the police chief humbly asks for the aid and cooperation of the public."_

"_We ask that if anyone sees anything suspicious, please call our new crime stoppers hotline immediately. Do not approach; these are highly dangerous people…"_

"Please tell me you are having better luck than the police." Said Felix as the news screen showed the mug shots and names of every known villain in the attack. "You have to be doing better. The police out here might as well be running in circles, for all the good they're doing."

"GIYAHHH!"

"Does that answer your question?" Jazz sighed as Wade just kept screaming at his computer.

"That bad, huh?"

"Well, the sink hole's taken out the power to almost half the city, which means security cameras and basically every other technological way of tracking anything is useless, and the phone lines aren't showing any weird activity at all. It's like trying to work in the dark ages!" Wade exclaimed, the vein on his head threatening to explode as he glared at his screen. "It's hopeless! My usefulness here ended the moment I alerted the cops to just who they were looking for and what they'd done. I take it you're not doing any better?"

"Nope. Bird's eye view's just as useless." Felix sighed sadly before a strangled cry had him dropping altitude. "Of course, having to help with the rescue isn't giving me much time to look. The rubble's still shifting out here. New people are getting exposed or placed in more imminent danger every second and I'm one of the very few people who can get in and out easily. I can't just ignore them."

"No one's asking you to." Jazz replied with an understanding nod. "Just do what you can. How's things on your end, Monique?"

"A lot better now that backup's got their keisters in gear." Monique answered, her voice a little muffled as a helicopter flew over her head. While Felix had headed in when he heard what happened to Henry, Monique had stuck to helping people in the less damaged areas. She simply would have been in the way if she went with him, so she chose to hitch a ride with a hover car and kept doing what she could. Still, even out in the relatively stable areas, there was only so much she could do. "Another fleet of helicopters have just arrived and from what I've managed to overhear, evacuations of all the critical risk areas beyond the hole will be covered within the next hour. The only problem is that even out here, they're having a lot of trouble bringing in ground support. We've got a lot of injured people waiting for medical attention and the number's only gonna grow."

"That should clear up soon." Said Bulma with a sigh, putting her phone away as she walked back into the room. "Goten and Trunks got word of what's happening and took off before anyone could stop them. I told Trunks to clear paths. At least now we have another possible way of finding Henry."

"We do?" Monique and Jazz asked.

"Yeah. The Z Fighters can sense people's energy and both the boys have learned that trick. The stronger someone is, the easier they are to track and since they've been around Henry, they know what his energy feels like. Sadly, the fact that Henry looked like he'd used up most of his strength will make his signal fainter and harder to find, but this still should cut down our search area by a lot. They can even do it constantly while moving cars and debris, so we don't have to worry about slowing down any ground efforts in the process."

"Great. Now a seven year old is more useful than I am." Wade muttered, actually turning away from his computer. "All I can do is monitor the phone lines and I've already set up an alert for that. They're right under our noses and I can't do a single thing to find them."

"No, but maybe you can find out how many there are." Felix quickly responded. "We now know that Kim's villains have teamed up and caused this mess. So we should probably figure out just how many have gotten involved so we know what to prepare for. I for one, would like to know if Motor Ed's gonna try to steal my wheels again."

"Or if Hench Co's playing supplier to this nightmare." Monique nodded in agreement. "It'd be real bad for us right now, but it would be good in the long run if we could use this to finally turn law enforcement on the company. Anyway, gotta go. We've reached another group of people trapped in an elevator."

"Oh, an easy job. Lucky you, you don't wanna know what I've just found." Felix groaned, a deep frown crossing his face. "I am gonna need a lot of help. Talk to you later."

"So, what do you think?" Jazz asked as the two video feeds went blank. "Got a way to pull off their idea?"

"That, I think I can do." Wade nodded, spinning his seat back around. "I can find, or at least tell when something's up with most of Kim's enemies. For example, I've already found that the Seniors have not been spending ridiculous amounts of money in the last week and…a notable amount of energy consumption has disappeared in Europe. Translation, they're not home, which means that they're probably involved."

"They're that wasteful?" Jazz cried dramatically, dropping her jaw. "That is…beyond ridiculous! With that kind of money-"

"Yep." Wade cut her off. That rant could have easily ended up as dramatic as the Seniors' splurging. "A lot of Kim's past enemies have tells as obvious as that and I can check up on others pretty easily. This shouldn't take too long."

"And I thought the ghosts were predictable." Jazz muttered exasperatedly, rubbing her temples, only to freeze a moment later. '_Wait. Ghost are predictable…'_ The thought was barely through her head before she raced to her own computer and opened the ghost file she'd stolen from Danny. They knew a ghost was involved and this sort of thing sounded very familiar.

Global Justice had jumped to Vlad Masters being involved and she could certainly understand that mental route. However, Jazz could think of maybe three actual ghosts that could and would be willing to pull something like this off.

Honestly, this was still a needle in a haystack scenario. New ghosts were coming into being all the time and Danny had hardly faced them all. But Danny's enemies were the most active, so on the off chance it was one of them, she felt it was better to be prepared.

After all, this was the best way she could currently contribute and she needed that feeling too.

….

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Spectra honestly didn't know which person screamed that at the top of their lungs. Maybe it was more than one.

The moment the words had left her lips, the entire factory had exploded in an absolute uproar. Everyone was screaming one thing or another, though what they were all saying was anyone's guess. As much as she tried to settle things down, Spectra couldn't even hear own voice amongst the chaos. In fact, she could do little more than collect her bearings as the cronies whipped her around all over the place screaming incoherent nonsense in her face before someone else took a turn.

'_As expected._' She thought moodily, quickly growing red in the face and sprouting another daffodil. It was simple strategy. You don't rile up a fear to get people to do what you want, then openly lead them straight into said fear's open arms. It appeared that she and Gemini had done a wonderful job of instilling terror into the masses, because this level of panic was catastrophic. Again, would be lovely if it wasn't for the fact that she needed these people to work for her, not feed her.

"You fools! Quiet down!" She tried again, using Drakken's vine to push the next set of hands away. "If you keep this up, you might wake…never mind." She finished with an annoyed frown as she found the boy sinking through the floor. That was good, she guessed. Bertrand had stopped one problem. Unfortunately, it also meant that he'd abandoned her to this mess. '_Next time, he's impersonating the buffoon in charge._'

She also considered whipping him for leaving her only a few seconds later as the frenzy continued. The vine was making the crowd keep their distance, but in response, they were somehow getting louder! Restoring order was looking to be impossible. They weren't listening to what came out of their own mouths, forget anyone else's. She wouldn't be surprised if some of them were simply screaming.

That went on for about two more minutes before Spectra snapped.

"YOU. WILL. ALL. SHUT UP!" The mob stopped with a final cry as Drakken's body flew into the air, his eyes glowing blindingly red and his body green, mixing with the blue glow of the silver cutlass he held over his head.

"Wow. How are you-"

"NOT NOW, FRANCIS! For now, you lot are going to listen to me and you're going to listen good! My spies have confirmed a golden situation for us. Almost every Z Fighter is currently out of the country and busy with their own thing. Only the weakest one is anywhere nearby and she will be too busy with the disaster to pay attention to what we're up to at Capsule Corp until it's much too late, at which time, the blame for it will fall on Tech.

"This is the best route to take!" She went on, sneering down at everyone who was about to open their mouths. "We lure Kim Possible in with captured friends. We finish her off. We blow the place up, along with Wade and Bulma, ending the Valour Guardians' greatest sources of information, technology and financial backing once and for all. And in the middle of all this, we ransack the place. With their capsule technology and the various other high tech machines, inventions and schematics, our own arsenals and our wealth will reach all new heights. When the Z Fighters find out what happened, they, like the rest of the world, will blame Tech and search for him. They'll confront his team and with their tempers, will probably attack them. When this is done, we will have turned heroes upon each other, started the beginning of the end for Global Justice, increased our own power and ended Kim Possible and Team Go, without any risk to ourselves. Provided that we settle down, act quickly and do this right. Preferably, WITHOUT THE CONSTANT WHINING!"

Fortunately, that did manage to shut them all up, though none of them looked too happy about it. Most were still glaring right back at her, but all of them seemed to be mulling her words over. That was something at least. She still wasn't sure that they'd be willing to go through with it, but at least they were considering it. Time was still of the essence, but she knew she couldn't push this any further. She'd done all she could for Vlad's plan and way more than she cared to. If this part failed, then too bad. While she admitted that using such a high profile location was the best way to have Kim's death shine amongst the current death and destruction and get the maximum impact, at this point, she was content to off her anywhere.

"So, can I ask how you're flying now?"

"UGH! It's the sword's doing, Lucre!"

….

Everything hurt. That was the very first thing Henry registered as slowly came to. Every inch of his body was at least complaining of a dull ache. More burning pains covered most of his torso and thighs. He wouldn't be surprised if he had a cracked rib and his left wrist was pretty much in the same state. Right, someone had actually hit it hard enough to break his gauntlet. The fight…that had gone bad. That explained everything. He'd taken so many hits, scraped across the ground, used up so much energy after constantly draining his reserves helping people in that mess. That explained why he was so tired, so sore, why he couldn't…wait, why couldn't he move? Where was he? What was going on? Oh, wait, he lost the fight! That would mean…

With a deep groan he simply couldn't stop, Henry slowly forced his heavy eyes open, only to wonder whether he'd actually fail. The place was pitch black, no matter where he looked. Though that was still better than what his other senses were offering him. The place reeked of smoke, it almost had him hacking. His body was sitting upright, but he was both sitting and leaning against what felt like jagged stones and twisted metal. That was possible, likely even. He had been fighting in a disaster zone. But why was he feeling it so…wait, where were his clothes? All he had on was his boxer briefs and…what felt like thick rope around his chest and arms, legs and wrists behind his back. Well, now he knew why he couldn't move.

'_Ok, you're caught._' He thought, taking a few deep breaths and trying not to hack on smoke. _'It's not the end of the world. Calm down, think your situation through and try to stay awake._'

"I wouldn't breathe so deeply if I were you." Henry tensed as the voice came out of nowhere, echoing throughout the area. Right before a light flared up right in front of him, revealing the smug face of a pudgy, little man with swept, grey hair and bright green eyes. "There's only so much oxygen down here."


	16. Chapter 16

**How Much Can One Girl Take?**

Entering the city, Jake and Huey could only stare. Not ten minutes ago, they'd been full of excitement as they rushed to Metro City. Now, they were frozen in shock.

They'd thought everything was going fine. Huey's sweeps, while not perfect, had gone well. While not seeing dragons didn't mean there were none around, he had managed to track down a few magical creatures and casually dig for intel. While the non-magical world wasn't ideal for him, the magical creatures simply wrote Huey off as a foreign or hybrid species, so no one really looked twice if he strolled through magical markets or other meeting places. Combine that with Huey's ability to charm and conniving tendencies and he was able to weed out plenty of information on nearby dragons without suspicion. Not that it was hard to get anyone to spill on them right now. Markets were trashed and every creature thought to have even a hint as to where Jake might be was thoroughly shaken down and threatened, something that was happening in every country surrounding China. That left most creatures ready to tirade at the drop of a hat. In all honesty, Jake was pretty sure the only thing stopping half of Asia's magical world revolting against the dragons was the fact that it was taking everything they had just to keep the events and results of all this from catching the mundane world's attention.

But that was a problem for another day. Today was supposed to be fun. A chance to catch up with Kim and introduce her to Huey. To be introduced to the full Team Possible. A chance to enjoy full access to the internet, delicious fatty foods and a shower! Instead, this was...

"Whoa. And I thought my room was a mess." Huey muttered, barely being heard over the sirens and panicked people screaming for who knew what. Probably everything. "Someone needs to tell the architect that the apocalyptic look is out."

"What happened here?" Jake exclaimed, shifting to his dragon eyes as he scanned the area. This was just another example of why being in the middle of nowhere sucked. A disaster had happened and he didn't have the first clue about it until he was almost right in the middle of it. Damn, he needed a working TV!

It clearly hadn't happened too long ago. Huey had only come back with green light this morning and everything had been fine. It had still been a bit though. A lot of abandoned vehicles further in had been pushed aside and the outer buildings all seemed to have been evacuated. At least as far as his eyes could see. He'd risk bringing his dragon ears into play too, just to make sure, but he doubted he'd be able to find anything important with the plethora of sounds already crashing into his ears. He'd probably just end up with a migraine.

"I couldn't tell you." Huey frowned, zipping around the street and up onto cars and buses, trying to get a better look. "Best I can tell, it looks like a giant came out of nowhere and started stomping around. Kinda like Uncle D does when he gets in one of his...destroy the universe...moods. Hey, maybe it was Uncle D! I gotta find out."

"Wait, Hu...gah!" Jake started, only to groan as the tights-clad duck boy disappeared in blur of red and gust of wind. "Could that impulsive piece of poultry just take his foot off the gas for like five seconds? Who thought it was a good idea to give super speed to a teenager?"

Jake could have just stood there and complained for a good while longer, especially when he realised that he was starting to sound like his parents, but he forced himself to go in after his crazy, feathered friend. He doubted that Donald was the one who did this, he'd be hard to miss from five miles away if he got big and angry enough to cause this, but either way, the one who did it could still be around and a lot of people definitely needed help. As much as he wanted to keep his location a secret, this was too big to just ignore. It'd be ok, he just wouldn't use his full dragon form where anyone could see it. He'd just be another Asian boy in Japan trying to be a Good Samaritan. Maybe one with weird eyes and occasionally coated in fire. Weird, but not a dragon.

Yeah, he's got this. You know, unless on the off chance, Huey was right and the Duck of Doom was close. Then they were all as doomed as the name implied. Especially if he was still already this angry when he saw Huey.

He could worry about that if it happened. Right now, he had people to help and information to get. Also, probably a Kim Possible to find. Surely she'd be helping people somewhere in this mess.

...

Well, this was quite the mess Henry had managed to get himself into. He was hurt, tied up, almost naked and had a creepy, old dwarf leering down at him. To make it worse, there was almost no light, he'd been told there was little air and from what his bare skin was suggesting, this place was possibly even more torn up than the battlefield that was his last known location.

Honestly, he wasn't sure if he should be more worried about the place collapsing on him, the high chance of suffocating or if he was about to become a rape victim.

'_There's only one way to find out.'_ "What do you want?" Well, that came out weaker than he'd hoped.

"At this point, all that's left is your continued absence and information." His captor answered, coming a few steps closer, the shifting light finally letting Henry get a good look at this guy. He looked basically like a miniature butler, in a suit with his grey and white hair swept to the side. He was short and pudgy, enough so to make him seem harmless. The only thing that really stood out about him was the brighter than usual eyes that were piercing him with a gleeful, malicious glint.

"And that requires stripping me in a dungeon?" Henry retorted with an unimpressed glare.

"Oh, your clothes are being put to great use, let me assure you." The man waved off. "As for the 'dungeon', it's a bit lousy, I know, but it's the best we could do on such short notice. While we had taken your techno telepathy into consideration with our plans, it was after all, what initially made you a target, we were unprepared for your gift with polarity. Sadly, this was the best place we could find to neutralise both of your ranged abilities."

"There's metal all over the place." Henry deadpanned. He didn't need to see, he could feel it all around him.

"Yes, but I wouldn't advise moving it." The butler replied chipperly, waving his flashlight around. Following the light, it took Henry everything he had not to start hyperventilating.

"As you can see, this place is barely standing. It's walls are made of smashed, cracked and burned metal and stone. It's a room on the edge of the Global Justice base that miraculously remained standing after the explosion, not that it's in any condition to do anything but suffocate a victim. Any tweaking to its very delicate structure could have the whole thing crashing down upon you. Of course, it won't do anything to me, but it would be a shame to lose access to the information I seek. Not to mention the possibility of using you as a hostage, if our plan hits a snag."

"How would this not be a problem for you? How could you possibly even get us in here?" Henry cried, his panic starting to break through. He'd followed the light all around the room and there wasn't a single exit. It was impossible to get in or out. So how had... "You're the ghost that possessed Hego!"

"That I am. The name is Bertrand." The ghost said with an exaggerated bow. "I'm also the one who possessed the Sumo Ninja. It was the only way to get him to do what we wanted and give him the ability to take on you. Of course, I had to leave him and actually shapeshift into him at the end of the fight, so props for still knocking him out, I guess.

"However, we are not here to discuss my exploits. It's yours that my employer is interested in. So, why don't we get started on this?" Bertrand declared, raising his hand and revealing Henry's green ringed device.

"What do you want with my D Ark?" Henry asked, trying to sound mad as he probed it with his mind. A second was all it took to see that it was fully functional. That was great! Except...something was blocking its signal.

"Information of course." Bertrand stated as if it was obvious. "We know you have what we want in here. The problem is that we can't access it. Quite the machine you have built for yourself, I must admit. A device that stores data, but serves the main function of a wifi router, extending your range from internet sources and allowing you to set up to alerts of other computers' actions. Complete with one hell of a security system, complete with a data erasure system for if it's compromised. We were lucky we noticed that before we probed too far. So, that means we need you to bring up the data for us."

"What makes you think that I would cooperate with that?" Henry retorted, glaring defiantly right back at the smug ghost. He didn't even know what was on there that these guys could possibly want. Sure, there was delicate data in there, plenty of it actually, but all of it was associated with his team and their enemies back home. According to what he'd been told, the only reason they paid attention to him long enough to see anything else was because he had a power that could end their plans and he hadn't been tapping into that data since he left Shinjuku, so what could they possibly think he had in there?

"Normally, I'd say you'd do it so I'd spare your life, but you have to know by now that you're only going to live so long as we still have use for you." Bertrand started, stepping right up and leaning his smug, sneering face right into Henry's. "So I guess I'll just have to make you do what I want in a more traditional way." With that, Henry had barely a second to widen his eyes as the man before him turned translucent and flew right into his body, dropping the D Ark into his lap along the way.

"Grraah!" Clenching his eyes and gritting his teeth, Henry whipped his head wildly, his acid green, glowing body falling to the ground as he struggled with everything he had as a chilling sensation ensnaring his mind. He had to fight it back. He couldn't let the ghost shut him down. This was an attempt to overshadow him, to make him a puppet. He refused to be controlled by anyone! He couldn't let what happened last time ever happen again. He wouldn't be used to hurt others. He wouldn't! HE WON'T LET IT HAPPEN, DAMNIT!

"Get the hell OUT OF ME!" With that scream, the acid green aura was ruptured by a pulse of a darker shade from Henry's head, just seconds before Bertrand shot out of him like a rocket.

Gasping deep breaths as the pressure in his mind disappeared, Henry didn't even give himself a second before he turned his eyes to his D Ark and telepathically reached for it. He had no delusions of pulling off another exorcism, so he had to work fast, right now.

Groaning from across the darkened area met his ears a moment later as a glowing figure pulled itself back up. This time however, it wasn't a butler that caught Henry's eye, but what looked like a giant pile of snot or slug with arms and a face. One that had also lost its smug look and was now snarling at the Chinese boy.

"It seems I didn't give you enough credit. That's one unusual mind and strong will you got there. But worry not, I'll be much better prepared this time."

"Not that it will matter." Henry sighed, meeting the moody look with a satisfied grin. "I just deleted every piece of data my D Ark had. It's useless to you now."

"What?" Bertrand was back in an instant, pushing a startled Henry aside as he snagged the device, only to growl as 'Data Erase Completed' lit up the screen. "Damnit!" In his panic, Bertrand tried hitting the buttons, trying to undo Henry's work, but even he knew it was pointless. He had no idea what the buttons even did and the data was already well and truly gone. All he succeeded in doing was bringing up a clock.

He glared at it for a few more seconds, still pressing buttons. However, just as he looked like he was going to pummel Henry into the ground, he simply stared at a wall in what Henry guessed was a ghost's version of taking a deep breath, and almost immediately calmed down. "All well."

"...All well?" Henry frowned, more than a little confused. Did this guy have a split personality or something? He just went from the cusp of a temper tantrum to almost chipper in a second. He didn't care about the data after all?

"Honestly, all you've done is damage my reputation with a guy I have no interest in pleasing. We have no use of it for any agenda that involves me. I think I even consider it worth it to inconvenience the egomaniac. I do enjoy making smug looks disappear."

"Which egomaniac?" Henry asked as he tensed back up. That didn't sound good. That sounded like a whole different plan was already underway. And if it involved his data, then most likely either his friends were the targets or one of their enemies was involved. Maybe both.

"Oh, that's right, you only have speculations, no assurances of everyone involved in this little scheme. Well, you're smart, I'm sure you can figure it out. If you survive long enough, that is." Bertrand smirked as he approached his captive again, this time shapeshifting into a tall, deathly pale man dressed like a surgeon. "Now I suggest this time, you be a good, compliant little prisoner, or this will only hurt more. Though if it were up me, I'd have you squirming."

Before Henry could ask why, the smirking psycho had grabbed him and pushed him back into the wall harshly enough to see stars before a purple flash in his rising hand created a large needle. It barely even completed before Bertrand shoved straight into the vein on Henry's neck.

"ARGH!"

"Sorry, I have no talent for the gentle touch." Bertrand sneered as red liquid quickly filled the large tube before he replaced it with another. "And how careless of me, aiming for the neck of all places. One slipup and I'll do real damage here. Better not break my concentration, brat."

'_Not again._' Henry bit his lip, forcing himself to stay as still as possible and resist every instinct to fight back. The last time his blood was taken like this, he'd been controlled by the Black Water Mist and the megalomaniac pulling his strings somehow managed to duplicate his powers for himself. Let's just say that theft of blood was a sore spot for the Matrix Tamers.

"That should do, I suppose. I don't really know, but I don't really care either." Bertrand muttered uncaringly, almost ripping the needle back out and eliciting another cry from Henry.

"W...why...?"

"Don't know, don't care." Bertrand shrugged, making sure both vials were sealed before pocketing them. "I barely agreed to do it. The only reason I did was because it will supposedly cause more fear and grief later and because it would cause you more distress now. Keeping the goody two shoes sad and depressed makes it a lot easier to do it to the rest of the world, after all. Speaking of which, I will take my leave now. Enjoy pondering whether you still have enough oxygen to die by cave-in in the dark void."

With that, he gave the boy one last dark smirk from behind his mask before turning intangible and flying through the ceiling, taking the light source with him and leaving Henry with nothing but dread to keep him company.

He was well and truly screwed.

...

As impossible as it had seemed when the fight began, the Hospital was actually still doing quite well by nightfall. Though appearing as a single entity, the structure was constituted of three buildings making the one and the fight had only reached the first, albeit main, building. It seemed to be a detail in the design for this sort of situation, allowing for the hospital greater chances to remain active in the case of a crisis, though the architect probably had earthquakes and hurricanes in mind rather than a super villain attack.

The outer buildings were rapidly getting crowded and getting everyone into a building with the medical equipment needed for their care was growing increasingly difficult, but doctors and nurses on duty were giving it their all and stabilised most patients the latest rescue teams were able to transfer into their wards just fine. At least long enough for other hospitals to take over their care at any rate.

The number of injured had taken a noticeable rise, as had, sadly, the number in the morgue after those sonic attacks, and the numbers included some of the medical staff themselves, but it could have been far worse.

The city was fairing much better too. At the very least, most fires were out, the rest were controlled and the area was settling down. They were still swarmed with rescue and military vehicles alike, but with the fall of the two notorious villains and the panicked swarms finally clearing the streets, the situation was slowly getting back under control. Most people were resting in the safety zones set up while others were assisting where they could, removing small debris or helping the injured. The hospital couldn't take any more people, so medical tents were set up as well, providing first aid while helicopters were called in to take them to other medical facilities. It was going to take a while to repair all the damage, but Go City was resilient.

And, fortunately for them, they did not have a major Global Justice base nearby.

Since the moment the panic had awoken her, Kim could barely stop herself from hyperventilating. It was on every channel. Again and again, location after location, it was all the same. The destruction was immense. People were screaming, trapped in fallen buildings or behind walls of fire. The Global Justice agents well enough to continue their duty around her were all in fits, desperately trying to get updates from any agents in the targeted areas. Trying to find survivors and answers. None of their attempts were promising in any sense of the word. The few who could still respond knew nothing, they'd been outside their bases when explosions occurred. They were simply more people currently attempting rescue missions. Those around her were growing louder, more frustrated, more desperate.

It was driving Kim insane.

The level of fear and panic the world felt bathed in right now, even after six hours. The precision of such a large scale, destructive attack. The number of people being consumed within it and the heroes struggling just to save a few. It was so much, too much! And to make matters worse, it was triggering Kim's memories in the worst ways. As she watched the TV, her vision flickered. In place of rescue teams, she saw white husks swarming on the terrified victims. Or black swarms with malicious, yellow eyes rising from the debris where there had been injured kids only a moment before, consuming rescuers.

Unable to take any more, she grabbed the first thing her hand could find and threw it right through the TV, eliciting an agent guarding her door to burst into her room, ready for a fight, as it shattered, before ripping herself from the bed and heading down the hall, ignoring the man as he tried to get her to lay back down. She didn't give him the time of day, she just had to get as far away from the nightmare as she could.

Not that it helped much. Every room in the area had more agents and police officers collaborating with them, or trading debriefs. More than a few were gathered near one room in particular, guarding the injured Director. She was very fortunate it seemed. While she wasn't a doctor, she'd listened to her mother at work often enough to know that the equipment around Dr Director was for little more than monitoring her condition. Her treatment must have gone well. She was even conscious. However, even through the crack in the door and her guards, Kim could tell she was still in a fair amount of pain.

"Excuse, but why is she still conscious?" Kim asked, tapping one of the guards' arm, never turning her eyes away from his boss. "If the morphine'snot dulling the pain, then..."

"Dr Director refused to take anything but the antibiotics required for her health, Ma'am." The agent responded. "A lot of medication is still in areas too dangerous to enter. Dr Director demanded that what is accessible be spared for the more needy." That was quite admirable, Kim had to admit, but that had left her writhing sporadically and hissing frequently when she tried to move. A sight that left Kim starting to panic and forcing herself to walk away before long. If only for a second, the Director's form was replaced in her mind by an image of Danny Phantom's erratically glowing body doing the exact same thing.

Kim's open distress was only drawing more and more attention to her, but at this point, she didn't care. She almost all out ran to end of the hall and flung a door open, only stopping when it was all out of sight. Only to sniff at the sight of Hego before her.

"KP!" A voice cried. Unprepared, she whipped her head to the side and almost pivoted her body into a fighting stance before the voice and nickname clicked in her head. Letting out a deep breath, she let herself sink into his arms, resting her head on his chest as he kissed it. "I didn't know you'd woken up yet. Sorry, I thought I'd be back before you did."

"How's Hego doing?" Kim muttered, nuzzling into his shirt before pulling her head back up and turning back to the downed hero, noting and offering a sad smile to Wego along the way. "And where's Shego? I thought she'd be here." She added, frowning at the total lack of green in the area.

"Shego's sedated one room over." Wego sighed tiredly, rubbing his head. "Her temper and history was riling up some of the agents and causing a lot of risk to herself. She has two fractured ribs."

"The doctors figured the 'things will be better in the morning' approach was the best solution. I think they're all dead when she wakes up." Ron added, looking more than a little squeamish. "As for Hego...he hasn't woken up yet."

Kim just nodded at that before finally letting go of Ron and offering her open arms to Wego, who would have dived into them if he wasn't still injured himself, grabbing on tight and not letting go. Kim simply tightened her grip in response, rubbing his back as she felt wet patches growing on her shirt. She couldn't imagine the pain he was going through right now. Kim had no idea what she'd do if it was her brothers in the situation and she never wanted to think about it. And to be left alone through it all, watching as his brother may yet slip into death's embrace and being so powerless to stop it? It's a fate she'd never wish on anyone.

But as bad as it was, at least Hego was still alive. The doctor was keeping constant watch over him and judging from his relatively calm demeanour and the stats on the monitor screens, Hego was stabilising just fine now. Yes, he was still out cold, but that was probably for the best, for him at least. As much as Wego needed him to wake up, it would be far better for him to awaken to at least some good news. Not the disaster they were all facing right now. His situation, his losses, the state of his city, they'd be hard enough on him on their own. He didn't need to know just how bad and scared everyone was. He deserved to at least awaken knowing that justice was served and things were going to be...ok for a lack of a better word, not to a world shattering situation with culprits still at large that only seemed to be getting worse.

Still, Kim couldn't help but selfishly wish that he'd wake up. Ensure them all that he would be ok, start spouting lines about heroes always triumphing or justice prevailing. She could really use his cheesy, 'the good guys always win' attitude right now and Wego needed so much more.

"Has anyone figured out how to give Hego his power back yet?" Kim asked, frowning as Wego tensed and tightened his grip. "I mean without breaking the orb and...letting Mego's..."

"KP, we couldn't find the staff." Ron sighed sadly, dropping his head as Wego sniffed.

"I sent clones down to the basement, where it fell, and ransacked the place, but it was a no go. It's gone."

"What?" Kim cried, turning wide eyes back and forth between the boys. "But...how could anyone not notice someone carrying that thing out of the hospital? Every agent should have known what it was and how important it was to get it!"

"Well, it can end up kind of small." Wego muttered sadly, staring at his feet as fresh tears filled his eyes. "It'd actually be really easy to sneak it out if they kept it like that." Right, Mego's purple glow. Kim could only nod at that, not trusting herself to speak. She'd just break down again.

Not that she wasn't on the verge already. She'd been hoping that they could at least give him his power back. She couldn't do anything for his brother, his home or anything else, but Kim had hoped that they could at least give him this one thing back. To find out that it had been lost...well, Kim could only hope that it would turn up later. After all, there was plenty of rubble for it to hide in right now, right? They'd just have to put a word out for it when the area was more stable. There was no reason to worry about it too much just yet.

Especially when it was time better spent comforting a crying Wego. Taking a seat, she pulled him down next to her and gently wrapped her arms around his battered, shaking form again just as a new round of sobs left his lips.

The three stayed like that for a while, simply letting their emotions and tears flow freely. Kim muttered soothing words for the boy in between her own sobs while Ron sat down next to her, worrying his lip between his teeth as he stared at her. He was clearly very conflicted over something, but Kim could worry about that later. Right now, all she wanted to do was comfort the boy in her arms and take the returning comfort for her own grief.

Kim had no idea how long they stayed like that. She didn't notice the time passing at all, until Ron's warm arms encircled her chest and his chin leaned into her neck as he let out a defeated sigh.

"Kim...I know we've been through a lot and all, but...I'd leave it, but you're gonna find out sooner or later..."

"Ron? What is it?" Kim asked, a deep frown crossing her face as she turned her head back. If she wasn't it before, the forlorn, almost haunted look on Ron's face definitely had her gut twisting horribly now.

"Professor Dementor made a public move, with a bunch of our other villains. KP, they teleported to Metro City."

"What?" Kim exclaimed, her whole body freezing in pure horror as her friends' face flashed across her mind. "What happened? Were they caught? Please tell me Monique, Wade and Felix are all ok!"

"They are all fine. Felix and Monique are even still helping the city's rescue crew." Ron answered quickly before his face turned sad again. "They went after Henry. They attacked him while he was in the middle of the mess and somehow...KP, they managed to kidnap him."

"WHAT?" Both boys, and even the doctor behind the glass, flinched as she screeched. "How could they catch him? He's...there's no way they could beat him. And they got away from the middle of a BLAST ZONE? How is that possible? They're so heavily covered in cameras, how did no one see the fight or where it went? How-"

"Plenty of people saw the fight, it was broadcasted all over Japan!" Ron butted in before she could get any louder. "The problem was that they suddenly disappeared after they grabbed him and no one's seen any of them since. Well, except for the Sumo Ninja. Related note, he disappeared from his cell and reappeared at the battle."

"This is making even less sense!" Kim cried, grabbing at her hair as her breaths got faster. "Henry's...I couldn't hope to actually beat him, how did they? How do you just disappear? And how do you stop Henry of all people from breaking himself free, or at least getting a message to other people? He's a super human with techno telepathy!"

"The city has been hit hard, Kim. Security cameras, internet, everything's apparently down in most areas." Said Ron.

"Yeah, but cars and battery powered devices are a dime a dozen in major cities! It wouldn't take much to draw attention." Kim exclaimed, her panic only growing. "How could they possibly beat and contain him? How is it that we can't find him, that they're that good?"

"He's was out helping people for a while before they attacked and from what I've been told, he wasn't being slow about it. He was probably already tiring out." Ron offered, rubbing circles soothingly into her back. "Don't worry, Wade and Global Justice are all over this. We'll find him."

"But they still managed to get him! If they could beat him, how do we stand a chance?" Kim cried, not calming down in the slightest. In fact, she was moving on to genuine hyperventilation. "And they actually managed to get away unseen. How? And how have they not been caught in...how long ago was this?"

"Five hours ago." Another voice grunted, immediately pulling the attention of everyone in the observation room to the door.

"Dr Director?" Kim cried, pulling herself to her feet as the woman entered the room. "What are you doing up? You're hurt."

"That's never stopped me from doing my job before." Dr Director replied, pushing away the agent trying to assist her. Though she did concede to taking the seat closest to the door, if only to placate her exasperated assistant. "It's sure as hell not going to stop me now, not with all of this going on. Global Justice needs me to restore order, so that's what I'm going to do.

"As such, I have gotten myself up to date with all reports and I believe I have an answer to both of your questions." She went on, motioning to her assistant. The man immediately opened her laptop and handed it to Ron to reveal a file with a picture of the Sumo Ninja. "As you can see in the report, our latest prisoner has been having blackouts. During interrogation, he claimed to have no recollection whatsoever of his jewellery heist, how he got out of jail or fighting in the Metro City crater. Not only that, but we have crossed recordings of the fight and noticed a second Sumo Ninja appearing at the end and leaving with the group. Finally, there was a point in time when he sunk through the ground. Put simply, this, along with our previous information, equates to the actions of a ghost being the most likely conclusion."

"He was overshadowed the whole time?" Ron cried, dropping his jaw. "We're sure he's not lying and just has a twin out there?"

"My best interrogators in the area were put to work on him. They all believe that he is being honest." Dr Director stated. "Though, that in itself is not the part that troubles me. I am most concerned about the robbery incident. It would be far too coincidental to believe that the same man was used by ghosts for two completely different crimes. Especially when you consider that you two were also in the mall that day and another possessed man was used to draw you out here only days later."

"Oh man!" Ron cried, wide eyed and pulling at his hair as he jumped to his feet. "That's just crazy! They've been targeting us since then? But then...if we were the targets, then why not just off us then and be done with it? If he'd used ghost powers, we'd be ghosts too long before now!"

"That part is anyone's guess." Dr Director grunted again, glaring at the agent again as he huffed at her. "Perhaps doing so would interfere with another aspect of their plan. But while that is a question it would be wiser to answer, it's more important to determine the answer to another question; the number of ghosts involved. If there's only one, then it has travelled great distances for the plan in Go Tower. I had Wade check, before today, there is no history of phone line transportation. It is far more likely that there are at least two, quite possibly more."

"Aw man, this just keeps getting worse!" Ron exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "How are we supposed to handle multiple ghosts coming our way, along with everything else?"

"With Jazz's help." Kim answered, forcing her breathing to calm down as she reached into the obvious bulge in Ron's pocket and pulled out her Kimmunicator. Strapping it to her wrist, she moved straight into activating it. "Wade, I need a ride back, any ghost hunting gear Jazz can give me and a full briefing on the way there." She didn't want to deal with this. She wasn't...she wasn't sure she could handle any more. But if they were coming after her like this was suggesting, then she was going to be ready and she was going to have all the backup she could get.

"Hey Kim, good to see you're awake, but...that's not going to be easy." Wade responded, offering her a strained, apologetic smile. "We've had a multinational terrorist event go do down and the prime suspects for it are right here in Metro City."

"I'm aware. That's why I'm coming back." Kim snapped. She didn't have the time or patience for this. She needed her...she meant, her friends needed her now!

"I meant that it has everyone's in a panic and shut down international airlines." Wade groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Especially here. Even most national flights are grounded. The only people in the air are either helping in the rescue effort or covering it with a camera. Your friends aren't any better off, they won't get the clearance to get anywhere near here for fear of bringing more terrorists or helping them escape."

"But they're using phone lines to get around!"

"And that's bad enough without bringing giant planes or boats across."

"Oh for crying out loud!" Kim exclaimed, throwing her head back in irritation. "Maybe I could call Gohan. He's with Raimundo right now and from what I read and remember, he has portal making tiger claws."

"Sorry Kim, but I already tried." Bulma butted in, leaning over Wade's shoulder. "He's not responding. Raimundo's V Com is back online too, but he isn't answering either. I'm guessing that they've found their own problems."

"DAMN IT ALL!" More agents burst into the room, weapons at the ready as Kim's scream had most of those around her jumping. Both they and the doctor by Hego's side were all sending her thoroughly annoyed looks as they all calmed down, but Kim didn't pay attention to any of them. She simply rounded on Dr Director. "Global Justice can still move in and out, right? Can you get me a ride?"

"Even if I did, what good would it do?" Dr Director replied calmly, completely unphased by the fiery glare being forced her way. "You'd be in the air for at least nine hours. That makes you no help to anyone for that whole time and an easy target. Global Justice has been compromised, to what extent we don't know, but I promise you, if they could access and destroy twenty of our biggest, most important and most heavily protected branches, then finding you on one of our jets will be child's play. Combine that with the kind of technology Professor Dementor creates and an unknown number of ghosts with unknown power levels and there are many ways this will go down, but none of them involve you surviving the trip. Regardless of who's in control, you are still clearly a target they've already manipulated and everyone we can confirm is involved with this and still active has an vendetta against you. Glare and hate me all you want, I will not pointlessly place you in a suicide mission.

"Besides," She went on, before Kim could retort. "I do have a more viable option. A confiscation." She tilted her head toward her partner as he opened a bag and pulled out a device that had the Possible duo gasping. "This was left behind as a pair of men my agents had caught at Electronique's last teleport sight disappeared. I believe this is what you recognised as a teleportation device?"

"Yeah. It's definitely Dementor's phone teleport doohickie." Ron nodded. "But it looks a bit different from last time. He must have made an upgrade."

"Or Electronique did." Kim nodded, noting the extra buttons and minor alteration to its shape. "Either way, it's Dementor's work."

"And with it, you can use their own method of transportation to follow them without obstruction." Dr Director stated. "I already have agents scouring the area for Dementor or any of the others, but we are low in numbers and I will not deny any extra help. Particularly from someone who's mere presence may draw our enemies out."

"You're using us as bait?" Ron shouted, throwing his arms out. "Are you for real?"

"It works for me. Let's get this started." Kim shrugged. She didn't care. In fact, she was fine with the idea. As long as she got back to her friends and the others, she could deal with any reason as to why she was being helped.

"The only catch is that you're going to have to teleport somewhere outside the city." Wade butted in even as the agent made his way over to a corded phone on the wall. "The damages already shut down most phone towers and we shut down the rest of the general lines to keep Dementor and the others pinned down. Only private frequencies can get through right now, like Capsule Corp's or the military's, and you need a solid cord based system to enter and exit."

"Dementor couldn't update this thing to today's cell phone standards?" Ron exclaimed.

"It's probably for the best that he couldn't. Imagine just how dangerous he could be with that kind of freedom. Or how hard he'd be to track." Bulma replied. "Anyway, it's no problem. My mom has some friends in a small town just outside the city with a phone older than me. I'll get the number and let her know you're on your wa-"

"EVERYONE, IT'S HENRY!" Jazz's voiced screeched from the background, causing everyone listening to flinch or clenched their foreheads as those on the other end of the screen whipped their heads to the door. "HE'S OUTSIDE!"

"I'll get back to you with the details! We've got to go!" Bulma exclaimed, already bolting from the room.

"Oh thank God, we got a miracle!" Wade sighed, practically deflating with relief. "I'll let Felix and Monique know we've found him. "Then I'm going to go check on him myself. I'll update you on his condition as soon as we know anything. See you soon, guys."

"Oh, that's awesome!" Ron cheered, bouncing around as he beamed at Kim. "Henry got away! He's as amazing as you said he was, KP."

"Yeah. What a relief." Kim nodded, actually feeling herself calming down almost as much as Wade had. So the bad guys weren't that good after all. Henry outdid them, one way or another and he was well enough to make it back to Capsule Corp. Her new friend was ok. Her powerful new friend was ok. Even if he was hurt, his powers were extremely useful, he could definitely still help with the situation. Sure, she felt a bit guilty letting her mind go to that before she even knew what condition he was in, that should not have crossed her mind nearly so quickly, but she just couldn't help it. Besides, she did still genuinely hope that he was ok, even without any benefits to her in mind. It was just...they could really use his help. He could do so much.

"The moment they call back, I want a debrief from the boy." Dr Director ordered as she leaned back in her chair, her tone leaving no room for objection. "Mr Wong's escape could provide us with all the information on this criminal organisation that we need. Especially now that they're trapped in one place."

"Yeah, like their location! You know, if they haven't already moved yet." Said Ron, going from excited to unsure halfway through. "I mean, come on, a technopath could of had them surrounded by now, right? They've got to have abandoned their newest crib."

"Yes, but he could still help us determine exactly who was involved." Dr Director stated. "Not only do we have yet to determine how many ghosts are involved, but not every member of this group came to the fight at Metro City. At the very least, Drakken was absent, who knows how many more were, and we still don't know who's leading this. We already know of three groups that aren't even known to work together well or at all joining forces. Someone reached out to gather them all and succeeded. Until we know who is guiding their actions, we have no way of determining just how far reaching this group is."

"But you still think it might be Vlad Masters." Ron muttered, gulping at the mere thought.

"He is the best suited to pull off an alliance between ghosts and criminals, so we cannot rule him out. And this attack on Global Justice increases the likelihood." Dr Director nodded gravely. "We have been on the watch for his return since the asteroid incident. And teleportation devices are the only way I can think of that would see bombs being released simultaneously in twenty of our biggest and most secure bases, a fact that Wade's monitoring of the phone line history has confirmed. Using their desire for revenge against your two teams could merely have been an incentive to gain the needed help or a distraction from their real target. Maybe both."

"If Global Justice is the true target, then the mastermind could be your brother." Kim noted with a frown. "He does have the resources for this and he could play on the others' desires. He's tried it before."

"Rest assured that I am looking into the possibility." Dr Director nodded, before flinching again. "But it is unlikely. His weakness is his arrogance. He would want to rule over the others and too few of these criminals would ever accept that. And he wouldn't care about you. The distraction and the call for help tells us without question that someone has a roll for you my brother wouldn't bother making, even if it did get him the others' loyalty."

"Yeah, that's true. It's not like he ever had a vendetta against me. Even when we fought him, he was too interested in you." Kim conceded, rubbing her chin. "In fact, of all my villains, the only one that's ever tried manipulating me like this is...wait, why did you mention Drakken?" She cried, her eyes widening as the name registered. "Last I checked, he was out of the game! And he'd never go after Shego's family. Shego would kill him herself."

"Yes, it is surprising, but it does appear to be the case." Dr Director sighed, biting her lip a second later as she leaned further back against the chair, her voice growing more strained the more she talked. "When Wade traced the forty criminals fleeing our headquarters, he found that they converged on Drew Lipsky's last known location. I have sent a unit there and it does appear that a number of people had been around for a significant amount of time. On top of that, Lipsky was not there. Either he is another victim or he s involved. Probably as a higher level member. Of all of your adversaries, he is the one most likely to gather that facti-argh!"

"That's enough for now." The agent declared firmly, not even flickering at Dr Director's weak glare. Honestly, Kim had to agree. The head spy looked like death warmed over. She struggling to stay upright, her voice was hoarse and she was far too pale. She needed rest, regardless of what Global Justice and the rest of the world needed.

"I will-"

"Reprimand me all you want later. Right now, you are going back to your bed and you are going to take it easy." The agent butted in, only impressing Kim more as he effortlessly picked his boss up and carried her out of the room, ignoring her orders entirely and only stopping to give the remaining three a nod before disappearing.

"That guy...is so cool." Ron muttered, staring out the door in awe. "I mean, he's totally demoted once DD's back on her feet, but man, he is awesome."

"Yeah. Respect." Kim mumbled, sitting back down and turning back to hugging Wego as his eyes went back to his brother. She needed a moment. A lot had just been dropped on her again. After all, Dr Director was right. If Team Go's villains, her villains and multiple ghosts were all gathered for the same job and they didn't know who made it happen, how could they possibly know just how many people were involved? They could be up against armies. There could be some of Jake's magical creatures involved. Hell, the Dark Dragon and that Charmcaster bitch themselves could be the masterminds. This was too much, way too much. Even with Henry back, even if he was in perfect health, how could any of them guarantee that they could come out of this on top?

Kim needed Gohan. She needed Jake, the weird duck thing, Danny Phantom, hell, just throw in the National Guard while you're at it. This was far too much, how could she possibly do any of this alone?

How could she possibly handle any of this at all?


	17. Chapter 17

**Infiltrated?**

Camille Leon was not happy by any means. Not only was she forced to put on the super hottie's horrible wardrobe, she had to shapeshift into him and walk almost a mile before the actual plan even began! She did not like transforming into guys, especially for long periods, it was far too uncomfortable on her chest. Shapeshifting in general for long periods was annoying enough on its own. Her body wanted to be in her true form, it took constant effort to keep her in another form, and to top that off, it risked causing stretch marks to her perfect body!

Then there were the damn gun barrels on her arm and the shoes! The ugly wrist accessory was so heavy that it threw her off balance and it was causing more than a bit of pain all up her arm, but if that wasn't enough, the cheap looking sneakers were hiding a layer of metal in the base. The extra weight wasn't too noticeable initially, but after walking for half an hour, Camille could sure feel it now. Her legs were killing her.

"I made it. Just so we're clear, if I don't get rich from this, your heads will roll." Camille hissed as she exited an alley and found herself staring at the target. "I am sore, I am tired and I am not happy."

"Trust me, your cat's leaving all of us in the same condition." Drakken replied dryly, grunting as a hiss and a smash rang in the background through her earpiece. "Look on the bright side; you won't have to _act_ tired and in pain. Now get into character. We can't have them becoming suspicious of you."

"I'm on it, cool your jets." Camille snapped, shifting her voice to match what little she'd heard of Henry's. "It's not a hard roll. Go in, tell them I'm alright and claim I want bed rest. In and out, easy peasy."

"Don't be foolish! You only have one chance to get this right." Drakken snapped back. "The fact that you're 'sore and tired' might allow you to hide a poor impersonation of his personality, but if you play it too hard, they will force you to a medical bay and an observer! Brush it off too much and they'll suspect something. Especially if you're still wearing the ear piece! While no one would wonder how Tech managed to find and tap into a private frequency, they'd all wonder why he didn't already let them know he was safe."

"You mean I get to stop listening to your whiny voice? Poppin!" Camille exclaimed, mock excitement oozing from her voice before she ripped the device from her ear. At least that was one annoyance she didn't have to deal with anymore. Shoving it into her pocket, she gave herself one more moment to glare in disgust at everything she was conceding to do before forcing her face into an exhausted expression and made her way across the street. As much as she hated to admit it, the blue weirdo was right. Between her own lethargy and the weight leaving her walking wonkily, she didn't have to do much to look the part at all.

"HENRY!" She didn't even get halfway up the front yard before a girl's cry hit her ears. Slowly raising her head a bit, she found a small group of people running her way, led by a girl with red hair. Jazz Fenton, she reminded herself as the girl reached her. "Oh, thank goodness you got away. Are you ok? We've been so worried, we've been looking everywhere for you. How badly are you hurt? Let's get you to a medic. Can you walk, or-"

"Let him answer a question or two, Jazz." Bulma interrupted as she caught up, looking just as concerned. Though that didn't stop her eyes from hardening a little as she nudged the redhead aside. "Also, let's not forget precautions. There are ghosts involved in this, remember?" She added, motioning to the Specter Deflector around her waist before placing her hands firmly on Camille's shoulders. Resisting the urge to shriek as the woman's greasy hands made contact with her bare shoulder, Camille simply responded by leaning into the touch with a tired moan, resting her head on Bulma's shoulder. "Good, there's no possession going on. Let's get you to a medic."

"I don't need one. I'm mostly alright. I heal fast." Camille muttered, pulling her head back up to meet Bulma's concerned eyes. "I just need a hot bath and a bed. I'm really tired."

"What? But after all the hits you took…" Jazz started.

"I'm tough. I'm just worn out." Camille broke in, a little more firmly than was probably a good idea, before covering it with a yawn. "I'm not built for long term exertion and fast healing takes energy. I need a nap, that's it, k?"

"If you're sure." Bulma answered before Jazz could, though she still brushed her hands over Camille's body for a moment, checking for injuries, before truly conceding. "You're friends will be happy to hear it. Takato and Rika have been calling every twenty minutes, asking or demanding updates. They'd already be here helping to look for you if they weren't busy with some devil lady spreading demonic bats across Odaiba."

"Kim and the others are relieved too." Wade added, joining them as they reentered the building. "You had us all really worried, buddy. Global Justice wants a debriefing though. They're hoping you can help us get numbers and a location on these guys."

"Sorry, I don't know." Camille replied with an exaggerated, tired sigh. "I was in a moving truck south east of here when I woke up and I only saw like, four people in there. The monkey guy, the crazy golfer and few guys in ugly body suits. I didn't stick around to find anything out. Do I look like I could go another round?"

"Fair enough." Wade conceded, throwing his hands up for the standard 'I surrender' look. Damn, that was a bit too snappy for this goody two shoes**,** wasn't it? The reports Drakken had dug up said this was a very calm and restrained hottie with terrible fashion sense. All well, hopefully they'd just take it as tired moodiness. The guy had to have bad days, right? "I'll tell them it's a dead angle. Is there anything you can tell us though? Maybe something they said?"

"Only complaints that the boss was douche and needed to stop adding to the plan." Camille answered, struggling not to roll her eyes or swing into one of her poses as she took the chance to rant. "Now that Global Justice is about to be toasted, they feel that just going after Kim Possible is more than enough."

"So Kim is a target." Wade muttered as they reached the elevator, frowning and rubbing his chin as he stepped inside. "I'll need to make sure to tell them that's been confirmed."

"Forget that part, we already knew it!" Jazz cried, far more distressed as she stared wide eyed at Camille. "What do you mean 'Global Justice is about to be toasted'? There's still a plan targeting them?"

'_Oops._' Well, that was a mistake. She didn't intend to let that slip. Trust the 'brilliant Jazz Fenton' to catch on to her wording. All well, it was too late now to stop it anyway, she was sure. Gemini didn't seem like the kind of guy to go slow and it wasn't like she had anything to do with it or to gain or lose from it anyway. "That's what they said. Besides, if I was an evil megalomaniac, why would I stop there?"

"Ok, that's worth giving to Dr Director." Wade stated, suddenly growing a lot more anxious and almost barreling his way out the door the moment it opened. "I've got to warn them immediately."

She'd probably get an earful for that later, but Camille was just happy to see that boy gone as the doors closed again. It was one less person risking her exposure and it was the guy that knew her best to boot. Again, she struggled not to smirk as the elevator made it to the next floor, Jazz shifting her against her body and guiding her out into the hallway.

"I'll send a nurse to check up on you." Bulma called after them, right before her phone went off again. "Fast healer or not, it's better to be sure you're healing properly. Rest well, Henry."

"Ok, thanks." Camille grinned over her shoulder as the elevator doors closed, ignoring the disapproving tutting coming from her remaining companion. It was a bit bothersome that she'd been left with the one least willing to let 'Henry' just sleep it off, but no matter. She could make do with this.

Shifting a little more weight onto Jazz's shoulder, she opted to stay quiet and let the redhead lead her back to the boy's room, simply humming as Jazz told her how silly she was being and pushing for a medic visit sooner until they stopped in front of a door. Fortunately, it wasn't locked, as Camille did not have a key, so Jazz opened it and strolled right in. "I mean really, it'd be no trouble. I could go grab the nurse now while you take a bath. If you really are fine, then it would be a simple five minute visit and then you're free to sleep."

"Alright, fine!" Camille snapped, pulling herself off of the redhead and forcing her arm up onto the desk before ripping the gauntlet off of her arm. She was just as sick of this girl's nagging as she was of that chunk of metal on her arm. If it would shut her up, she'd let her have her way. She'd just deal with another early victim.

After her bath. She hadn't had one since this started and the grime she was forced to smear herself with for this was gross. Besides, she couldn't do this mission smelling like a dump. She needed a hot bath as much as she wanted one.

….

Under normal circumstances, Vlad would have felt the urge to go and strangle that stupid child. One comment was all it took for her to risk the unraveling of the most important part of his plan. Global Justice had been hit hard, but they were far from done for just yet. They were still a threat to Vlad.

Wade was already alerting Global Justice to the situation. It wouldn't be long before the information, as little as there was, would be passed through to every agent. It was very fortunate to Vlad that it was already too late. Even as the spies were warned, Gemini was already well underway with the next attack and on a very large scale.

Though Spectra and the others weren't aware of it, Gemini had had his own follow up in the works from the beginning. His organization was almost as far reaching, globally speaking, as Global Justice and as such, he'd been preparing his men to stage their own attacks on bases ever since he agreed to help. On top of that, the sly dog had even reached out and tipped off the Forever Knights, one of many groups that had a longstanding conflict with Global Justice and had the alien tech needed to hit them hard. The plan was a simple one, set up attack groups near every discovered base likely to send assistance to the original targets, wait for the places' numbers to lower and attack simultaneously again.

Vlad's smirk grew into an all out laugh as one of his spybots showed him Gemini in the thick of it, his metal hand launching his finger rockets all over the place as his men poured out in all directions, destroying everything they came across. The plan wasn't taking out many agents, but that was fine. Their bases were crumbling, their equipment was either destroyed or stolen and their computers were getting hacked for even more sensitive information and locations before also being blown up. It was only a matter of time before the next wave of bases was hit too. At the rate this was going, no matter how many agents did survive, Global Justice would be gone by the end of the week and even if they could rebuild, it would be far too late to stop Vlad.

"Incoming!" A clone called, drawing Vlad's attention away right before the next explosion wiped out his spybot anyway. Determining which clone called by the way the others turned, Vlad dropped his eyes onto his screen and chuckled as he watched Kim and Ron disappear in flash of electricity, dropping the teleportation module in the process. "Isn't it a little early for their return?" The clone asked, raising an eyebrow at the original.

"Perhaps, but no matter." Vlad replied with an uncaring shrug. "They were heading out of town, right? By the time they get all the way back to Capsule Corp, it will be ours."

"Assuming the Saiyan girl doesn't interfere." Another clone called, a little nervous as he pointed to his monitor. "She's back in town. Sure, she's heading straight for the blast sight, but…"

"We can keep her out of it well enough." Yet another clone declared with a chuckle. "Drakken's involvement has already been discovered and the program upgrades to his little toys are complete. They should be more than enough to handle her and the extra brats flying around the city."

"Who would have thought Drew Lipsky of all people would make something worthy of fighting a Z Fighter." Vlad snorted. He actually was really impressed with the feat.

"Though they are here, not in Japan." The first clone pointed out. "If they are our contingency plan, we'd best send them now."

"Yes, I suppose I am right." Vlad nodded with a smirk, picking up a teleportation module he'd had one of his vultures swipe. "I should probably pick up that blood sample now anyway." With that, he sucked all but two clones back into his being and took off through the ceiling, one clone following with a large crate while the other went back to monitoring. He had a payphone to find.

….

Sighing as the bath water disappeared, Camille dried off and forced herself back into Henry's form. She'd doubted that Jazz would barge in while a boy was bathing, so she was free to enjoy the hot water in her own form.

"Such a shame he's such a goody goody." Camille sighed, staring over her current form in the mirror. Excluding below the waist, her form was currently a perfect replica of Henry's and she liked what she saw. "Put him in a suit and this guy would make one yummy escort."

"Henry?" Jazz's voice called as she knocked on the door, startling Camille. "Did you say something? Are you ok? You've been in there for a while."

"I-I'm fine." Camille called, scowling as she stumbled over the vocal manipulation. That girl just would not stop being a nuisance! Camille was amazed that she got even five minutes to herself. She needed to be dealt with.

Fortunately, Camille was prepared for that. All she had to do was…

"Ok, then are you ready to see the nurse? She'll be here in one minute." Oh, come on! Could she not even finish a thought before this pushy redhead butted into her business? That's it, she was going down now!

"Actually, I'm struggling a little to put on my shirt." Camille called back, ruffling through Henry's poor excuse for clothing before heading toward the door. "Would you mind giving me a hand? I have pants on, so you're free to come in."

"You might as well leave it off any-AH!" Jazz started, opening the door only to be literally stunned as Camille lurched forward a taser into her neck. She crashed to the floor instantly, spasming, but much unconscious.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you, blue boy." Camille grinned as her body started contorting into Jazz's form. "I don't think even a gag would have shut her up." Moving back to put on her underwear, she moved to take Jazz's clothes, but stopped and smirked as another knock sounded, this time coming from the bedroom door.

"Just a second." She called, pushing Jazz's body further into the bathroom before closing that door and heading for the other. Keeping her body behind it, she slowly opened the door, poking her head out and smiling at the nurse. "Come on in, he's just drying off."

"How is he now?" The nurse asked, stepping into the room. "Has he mentioned any particular-"

BZZZT

"And another one bites the dust. Poppin!" Camille smirked as the nurse hit the floor, her form already contorting to match the last victim. This would work much better. No one would question a medic moving around the company. One mention of an injury and everyone would just get out of the way. Yes, this would be perfect. She just needed the outfit.

….

True to form, no one made a single move to stop her as she hustled through the halls. Which was a good thing, because Camille did get a little lost. She didn't exactly get a decent amount of time to memorize a floor plan.

Fortunately, the 'nurse on a mission' look that she was giving off also made it easy to get help. It was no surprise to anyone that she didn't know her way around, after all the building was so enormous that few people actually did know how to get anywhere and everywhere. So, as long as she sounded like she was in a hurry, most people just gave her directions and got out of her way. It almost made her thankful for all of Jazz's pestering.

Still, that didn't stop her from grumbling under her breath the whole way, something that only stopped with a low growl as she _finally_ stood in front of the damn door! She had a feeling that she'd been around it almost three times beforehand. Not only was that a pointless, killer walk, but it wasted so much time that her victims might have already woken up! If that happened, then she was busted and Camille Leon will never be caught in orange again, damn it!

"Next time, you give me actually useable directions." She hissed softly, turning her earpiece back on.

"After this, there shouldn't be a next time." Drakken retorted, only making her glare at the door.

"Here's hoping." With that, she slowly opened the door, just a crack, and took a look inside.

It was a pretty standard deal. Two people, one man, one woman, sitting in front of a fancy control panel and a lot of monitors. There were no donuts, and both were actually looking pretty tense, but seeing as they talking about the crisis taking up a good chunk of the city, it was safe to say that they weren't too focused on their job. Or their surroundings.

Slowly opening the door just enough to slip in before closing it again, Camille slowly approached the duo, careful not to make any noise. Reaching into her pockets, she pulled out a taser in each hand and the moment she was close enough, she leapt right at them. The sudden movement caught the woman's attention and she whipped around, but it was only to watch with wide terrified eyes Camille struck, pressing the tasers into both of them at the same time. Choked gasps were all that managed to leave their lips as they jolted out of their seats and into the console before collapsing bonelessly onto the ground.

"Ok, I'm here and the killjoys are buzzed. What now?" Camille asked as she sneered down at the console. She could operate her phone and social sights like no one's ever seen, but she was not a geek. She couldn't tell you what a single button did on this thing.

"You have the USB drive I gave you, right?"

"Duh!" She replied with an eyeroll.

"Then it's so simple even you can do it." Drakken replied, the mock sweetness in his voice leaving Camille wanting to slap him. "Place it into a port, open it up and Professor Dementor will do the rest."

"I still don't know why you had me make the virus or do any of this. Aren't you-"

"This needs no mistakes and I'm admitting you're better at this stuff than me. Gloat about it later!"

"Can you two take your old married couple routine out of my ear?" Camille snapped, scowling as she scanned the console. "There are like, so many things I'd rather hear. Like the nagging redhead."

"Do the job and we won't have to talk to each other!" Drakken snapped.

"I like, already got it." Camille snapped back, practically slamming the USB into the first drive she saw. Fortunately, the system immediately responded, asking her if she wanted it opened so all she had to do was hit a single button. A new window popped up a second later, depicting a number of flickering symbols and numbers for a few minutes before a loud, bellowing laugh had her ripping the earpiece from her ear.

If she needed any other signs that her job was done, then the slamming of heavy doors and panicked voices not far from the room were more than willing to suffice.

….

"Ah, Bertrand. How nice to see you in person again." Vlad greeted as he and his clone made it to the meeting point, the tired out clone immediately disappearing a moment later. Flying from a town away with the crate did the frail thing in. "I trust everything is going as planned?"

"For the plan Spectra and I actually care about? Yes, somehow it has yet to go off the rails." Bertrand replied, not making any effort in hiding his contempt. Whether that was directed at the route the plan was taking, the extra work Vlad had asked of him or simply his feelings for Vlad in general, the ghost hybrid didn't know. Fortunately, he also didn't really care. "Your side plan on the other hand, has hit a snag."

"What kind of snag?" Vlad asked, his smug look disappearing as his eyes narrowed.

"The kind where Tech scrubs his data history instead of unlocking it." Bertrand shrugged, tossing him Henry's device. "I do however, have the blood." He added, taking a little more care as he handed over a box.

"You failed to get the data." Vlad muttered lowly, his eye ticking as his anger grew. That was a setback. He needed that data. Not only would it have given him Ryo's location, but there was no doubt plenty of other things within this toy. Perhaps even everything he needed to fill the holes in his information and perfect his plan. To know it was so easily and carelessly lost by Bertrand, that Henry had denied him, it was so vexing…

But he had to let it go. He couldn't threaten Bertrand. With Spectra still out there, no matter what he did, it would backfire horribly. He still wasn't ready for the world to know of his return. He had to settle down.

Besides, while the bonuses were beyond his reach, Ryo's location was still a possibility. He'd just need to get into Capsule Corp and find the computer Henry's handheld had been connected to. It should still have the data and once the final stage of the plan was underway, it would be far safer for him to enter.

Besides, even if that plan failed, he still had other ways to find Ryo. The most important thing was the blood now safely in his hands. At least for that plan.

Either way, he could worry about that later. Right now, he had one more thing he had to do before he could watch the current plan come to its climatic finale. And who knows, maybe these new toys he'd brought over would actually make this even better. After all, conquering the world would be far easier with one less Z Fighter to get in his way.


	18. Chapter 18

**A Hostile Takeover and A Daring Escape**

To say a lot of tension had been released was an understatement, at least for Bulma. All things considered, everything was turning out as well as it possibly could. Not only was Henry back and relatively fine, but she'd finally gotten in touch with all of her friends and assured their safety too. A few were on their way to the hospitals with broken bones or concussions, but all of them were expected to be fine. With the public phone lines down for most of the city, it had been quite a challenge getting in touch with everyone, but the effort was well worth it for her peace of mind.

She'd just gotten a call from her Mom's friend, letting her know that Kim and Ron made it back to Japan safely, which did wonders for Wade, Felix and Monique's morale. With so many of their villains in town, they were all keen to re-gather together and stomp them out.

All capable company staff available had been confirmed to have arrived and set out to assist with the crisis and were bringing in a lot of promising results too. That was great, both for the people and for business as side note. She had a feeling that her father would be hit with a lot of orders in the near future. Well, a lot more than usual, which was saying something in itself.

Finally, what truly had her smiling into the phone was the fact that a Z Fighter had appeared on the scene. Videl had finally made it back to town and dove straight into it, all the while searching for the boys.

"You have no idea how much better I feel with you out there." Bulma smiled into the phone as she took a seat in her family's living quarters. She finally had ten minutes and she was going to relax in peace. "I'm not sure what bothered me more about the boys being involved, the idea of them chasing a fight with the guys who did this or the idea that they'd do something stupid and cause more problems."

"Don't worry, I'll keep them out of trouble." Videl grinned back, even as she moved a tanker to stabilize a building, a dozen freed people running out behind her a second later. "So how's Henry? He's one of Gohan's friends from Tokyo, right?"

"He's tired and looking battered, but he assures us he'll be fine." Bulma replied. "Jazz has been taking care of him and the nurse is currently looking him over now. Since I'm not getting any emergency calls, I'm assuming it's going well."

"That's a relief. And what about the people who attacked him?" Videl asked, her face growing far more serious as the background turned blue.

"They're still in the wind." Bulma sighed, sinking into her seat. That was the one thing that was still bugging her. Normally, they had no problem finding the enemy. Just sense out the highest power level with malicious intent and off the Z Fighters went. Usually, the problem was avoiding them until they were ready to deal with the threat. It actually made Bulma nostalgic for Radditz and Lord Slug. Or even that disembodied brain that thought Master Roshi was still the strongest guy on the planet.

"In that case, I'll- ARGH!"

"Videl, what…" Bulma cried, watching wide eyed as Videl's jaw took what looked like a heavy impact from thin air before the world depicted on the screen spiraled, only to go blank a second later. She could only stare, stunned, as 'connection lost' flashed across her phone screen. A mere two seconds before everything else went to hell.

BANG!

"Wha…?" Bulma cried, leaping from the couch as heavy metal slammed down, blocking out all sources of natural light. Emergency lights immediately lit the area up, while panic alarms pierced through the area, nearly deafening Bulma, forcing her to throw her hands tightly over her ears.

'_What's going on here?_' She thought, rushing into the study and slamming the door behind her, only to groan as it barely did anything to block out the alarm. Groaning as she forced her hands away from her ears, she practically threw herself into the chair as she booted up the computer, her cursing at the time it was taking completely drowned out.

"About time!" The second it was finished and almost broke the mouse opening up the security reports, only to freeze as an alert immediately popped up. "You gotta be kidding me! How the heck did a virus get into the system?"

Bulma paled as white as a ghost as she pulled up the report. Half the buildings' systems and files had already been corrupted, starting with all security and communication programs, and the list was rapidly growing. It looked like it had been entered via the main security system, spread to the main computer and flooded the corporation from there. She had to stop it, fast!

Unfortunately, all her attempts were proven futile. The virus had already wormed passed and eliminated every firewall and antivirus program they had and was spreading way too fast. Every attempt to purge a file only had it corrupted again a moment later. She couldn't hinder it either! The only way to stop the spread would be to manually disconnect entire servers around the building, which she couldn't do because communications had been knocked out. The entire company was going to be compromised in less than two minutes and there was nothing she could do about it.

"DAMN IT! Alright, who did this?" Growling and glaring at the screen, she set her fingers to work over the keyboard again and forced her way into the security feed. She may not be able to stop this, but this was not going to stop her from spying the culprit and punching them through a wall. The only way this was possible, much less could happen without plenty of warning, was if someone implanted it from within. The only other possibility would be if someone like Henry did it and he had probably the rarest power Bulma had ever heard of! There was no way that there was a second technopath nearby.

"Come on, come on!" Bulma muttered, her eyes whipping over a number of camera feeds continuously. She didn't have long, her hacking was barely keeping the virus at bay, it wouldn't be long before even this was beyond her. But there was so much to look over and… "Oh no, where did they come from?"

Bulma could only stare in horror as area after area was busted into. Monkey ninjas, men in Drakken and Dementor's grunt uniforms, what looked like a biker mob, dozens of what looked like men in full black and maroon body suits, they were everywhere! The workers were screaming and backing away or running to other exits, only to be kicked, tossed or electrocuted to the ground before ropes were pulled out and tied around them.

Her own lab door hit the ground with a resounding bang, scaring Wade right out of his chair and whipping around only to tense and gape as Drakken himself strutted in, his sunflower petals surrounding his smirking face and his vine poised to strike. Wade barely wasted a second before scrambling for a gadget on the far side of his desk, but he couldn't so much as touch it, Drakken's vine sprung like a snake and wrapped itself around him, eliciting a strangled scream as it ripped him from the ground.

From then on, more and more big time faces started making their own appearances. Motor Ed burst into the mechanic bay with an air guitar solo. Professor Dementor and Senor Senior were strutted into the robotics engineering division. Monkey Fist sprung into her father's animal habitat, threatening her parents. Some guy in a suit and the loony toon who tried to ransom the internet for a dollar per person led some thugs into department of various gadgets. A…nurse was standing over two fallen security guards in the security office? Wait, why was her body…

"Camille Leon!" Bulma exclaimed, realization striking and freezing her core. She knew that woman! Who didn't know about the hyper socialite who was disinherited and turned to some crazy metamorphic experimentation to frame other celebrities for her thefts? She was in the security office? That meant she did this! How did she even get in? The only person who'd entered Capsule Corp, who hadn't already left again, was… "Oh my God!" She should have known Henry's return was too easy! She'd let the little bitch strut right in under her nose!

She needed to get help and she needed it now! But how could she possibly get anyone? All communication lines were gone and even if she could find a guard or someone willing to fight inside the building, once she left this screen she'd have no way of knowing whether or not that person was the damn shapeshifter! There was no way to…

No, that wasn't true! There should still be one way to get information out, an outlet was sitting right there in her draw.

"Oh come on, this is no time for the junk draw dilemma!" She cried panickily, ripping it open only to start throwing random objects and notes all over the place. Her frustrated glare quickly turned in a bright, relieved smile and gasp a moment later however, as she finally pulled a silver, rectangular device out from under a few blue prints. She knew she'd kept the Vcom prototype in there! Opening it up, she smacked her password into it, ignored every other option to light up the screen and practically slammed Kim's call button.

"Henry was a fake!" She screamed the second Kim's face came onscreen, not giving the girl a chance to talk. "Capsule Corp's getting atta-"

BOOM!

"AAHHH!" Once again, her call was interrupted, this time by an explosion on her end obliterating her door. It was only the sheer distance and reflexes a lifetime or stumbling into disasters with Goku that allowed her to drop and roll out of the way of the resulting burning wood shards flying her way, the Vcom skidding out of her grip in the process. Following its trail back to the door, she looked up just in time to see a beeping golf ball drop onto the screen and blow up, destroying the device.

"Now, now, Lass! Can't have you doin that, now can we?" Slowly raising her head, Bulma whimpered in fear as she found a squat, chubby, bearded man in a kilt sneering down at her, a golf ball in one hand and a club in the other.

"Duff Killigan. What would a temperamental golfer want here?" Bulma asked snarkily, trying to cover her fear as she slowly got back to her feet.

"Heavy duty explosive chemicals will be nice, but honestly, this ain't my plan. I'm just after the end of the cheerleader. Now, it seems to get our new stuff, we'll need you and your daddy, so I do hope ya come peacefully." Duff smirked, waving the ball in a very clear threat. Bulma just glared back for a moment before letting out a deep breath and slowly walking forward. All she could do right now was follow along and stall for time. She'd find a way out this, she always did.

All the same, she really hoped help would come soon. Gutsy and tough enough to scare Vegeta into submission when she wanted to she may be, but there was no way she could handle this all on her own.

….

"There you go, just a few more steps." Monique said soothingly, slowly guiding a concussed man to the nearest emergency vehicle. She was more than grateful as the paramedic met her halfway with a gurney. Helping rest the guy down onto it, she gave a medic a single nod as he rushed him back to the van before almost crashing onto the nearest bench, her chest rising and falling heavily as she rapidly took in deep breaths.

"I think…I'm done." She muttered between breaths, flinching as she slowly rolled her shoulders. She'd been at this for hours and the only rest she'd allowed herself was when she was waiting for lifts with or to other trapped people. It was amazing that she hadn't collapsed ages ago. As she was right now, her legs felt like jello and her arms were absolutely killing her, to say nothing of her mental state. She was ok right now, what with the crisis ongoing and full of distractions to focus on, but she was going to need therapy after this. She'd found far too many dead people and crushed limbs.

'_Girl, don't think about that._' Forcing her head up with a shake, she looked around for any distraction she could find, only finding more wreckage on the ground before a flicker of light above her caught her eye. Tilting her head back, a grin made it to her face as a dark haired girl bathed in a white light flew overhead at impressive speed. Monique barely got a glimpse of her, but she did get just enough to recognize her from the photos the Briefs had around their home. She had to be Videl Satan, the only living female Z Fighter and daughter of the last winner of the World Martial Arts Tournament.

"Now that girl makes a good replacement. Suddenly I don't feel so bad about tapping out." Monique muttered as she watched the girl begin her descent. After all, not only could the girl fly, she had super strength, speed, energy abilities and was even able to sense people's locations, right? With that resume, she should be able to find and save everyone still alive and trapped with ease. This was perfect.

Or it would have been if she didn't suddenly slam into the ground with a resounding boom a moment later.

"What the heck was that?" Eyes wide and jaw dropped, Monique was up and running as fast as her tired legs would go toward the resulting dust cloud. Fortunately, she only had to round a corner to see the result, but the sight before her left her dropping to her knees in fear rather than exhaustion.

Gasping herself, Videl's head was whipping around like crazy as she pulled herself to her feet. Her jaw was already swelling, but she wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to that, she looked far too panicked. Monique could see why, for before the girl could even finish straightening up, she was suddenly sent flying face first again into a wall, screaming as she was indented into it. Though only for a second, for before she even finished screaming her foot was jerked and suddenly she was smacked against the ground and back into the wall, crumbling it right on top of her.

"What…what is this?" Monique muttered, her whole body shaking at the sight. There was no way this could be happening! Videl was amongst the top ten most powerful people in the world. Her skills and abilities were on par with Gohan's, at least according to what she'd read and heard from Mrs Briefs. No one should be able to strike her down like this. Even if her opponent was apparently invisible, she should be able to sense them, so what the heck was going on?

"HAAA!" Monique's panic attack was put on hold there, as white and yellow energy exploded from the rubble, blowing it all away from the now standing Saiyan hybrid and whipping up another bout dust. Which, though it left Monique in a coughing fit, turned out to be a boon as then, just for a fraction of a second, two lines broke through the smokescreen, both heading straight for Videl, and it proved to be just enough for Videl to reflexively pulse the energy around her. The two girls had just enough time to catch two blue and black metallic objects sputtering in place before they disappeared again.

"Robots?" Videl gasped, only to cry out as her body was rapidly jerked and flung in multiple directions before smashing through a window, all in about two seconds.

"That's crazy!" Monique exclaimed, stumbling back as best she could on four limbs. That was absolutely unbelievable! Ghosts, those she was ready for and expected at this point, but robots that could move faster than the eye could see? Well, that explained why Videl couldn't sense them out, but how could that even be possible…wait, now that she thought about it, didn't Kim mention something like this before? "Oh God, don't tell me…"

"Show yourselves, you wannabe dishwashers!" Videl shouted, exploding back out of the building and constantly pulsing energy around her as she headed up. It was a good idea, her energy had repelled her enemies before and if Monique was right then Videl still had the advantage in the air.

Though not much of one, for a moment later, small booms and fluxes of power looking almost like dents in Videl's aura were going off like a fireworks display all around her. Flickers of blue, black and yellow were only seen for split seconds, gone before Videl could do anything about them, and were getting closer to Videl with every strike. To make it worse, Videl was puffing hard. The level of power needed to block objects going that fast, and with the force that implied, had to be high and constantly released. As powerful as she was, it wasn't likely that Videl would last long like this.

She needed a successful strike and fast, but that was one hell of a problem. To have any hope of striking such speedy opponents as they were now, Videl would need to blow up the area, which would kill anyone still stuck nearby and was still far too likely to be dodged by its intended targets. Normally, Monique would shoot some ropes and trip up her opponents, but if she remember what Kim had said correctly, then it would make no difference. At the speed they were going, it was as if Monique wasn't moving at all. They'd never fail to see her attack and avoid it.

Either way, it was already too late. Two impacts came down on the same side a second later and ploughed through Videl's defense. The warrior didn't even have time to tense before they pressed on and crashed into her, eliciting an ear piercing scream as she was sent crashing into the pavement.

This time however, rather than take off again, the two metallic bodies remained in place, their forms a vibrating blur as they kept pushing down on the Saiyan.

"AARRGHHHH!" Videl could do little more than scream as she twisted and writhed under their grip, that too being cut out as they grabbed her throat. Even from a distance, Monique could see the horror and panic in her eyes as she struggled for air. She'd either used up her power or couldn't focus enough for it. She was stuck and quickly suffocating.

At that point, Monique would have declared enough and dived in, her low chances of survival be damned, but fortunately, she didn't have to. For it was at that moment that two more white glowing projectiles surged down from the rooftops.

"No flesh creature can match the Hiv-"

"Says who?"

"Get off!"

Before the machines were even aware of the new threat, both had been struck, one losing its head to a slash from Trunks and the other ripped right in half by a kick from Goten. The hand on her throat disappearing, Videl barely took to the time to take in a huge breath of air before unleashing an energy blast from each hand, completely obliterating both remaining bodies before flopping back down, just breathing and letting her body relax. "Thanks boys. I owe you big for that one."

"You're welcome." Goten beamed down at her, before a concerned frown crossed his face. "But are you ok? You don't look so good."

"I'll be fine. Besides, I have these." Videl grinned up at him as her hand slowly slipped into her pocket and pulled out a small sack. A huge smile immediately replaced the frown as Goten saw her pull out what looked like a bean. "Senzu Beans! Great thinking, Viddel!"

"What's a Senzu Bean?" Monique asked, drawing the group's attention as Videl slowly sat up, making her way toward them. "And how does a bean help here?"

"Oh, hi Monique!" Goten called cheerfully. "I didn't see you there."

"Or helping." Trunks added with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry that I can't fly or break metal with a single punch." Monique retorted lightly, getting a conceding shrug from trunks as she turned back to the heroine. "I'm sorry I couldn't help, but yeah, even if I wasn't exhausted, I'd be useless against them. I'm Monique, a member of Team Possible."

"Monique's been helping with evacuations too." Goten added happily. "She's really good with ropes."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Videl." Videl grinned, ripping the bean in half before offering one to Monique. "Here, if you're exhausted, eat this. Senzu Beans are magical. They can fully heal and reenergize the body in moments."

"Thanks, but are you sure you don't need it? You got banged up pretty bad." Monique responded in concern, taking the offered half, but not bringing it to her mouth.

"Oh, I'm not that bad. Half a bean will be enough and there's no sense wasting the rest of it. It won't last like that long enough to give it to anyone else." Videl smiled back, popping her half into her mouth and swallowing it. Monique could only stare in amazement as with a slight jolt that looked more like surprise than anything else, every hint of pain disappeared from Videl's face and every wound closed in an instant. "See? Good as new." She grinned, jumping to her feet and rolling her joints.

"Wow. Talk about a miracle drug." Monique gaped before chewing her own half. The moment she swallowed it, her whole body felt like someone had filled her with energy, obliterating her exhaustion and even the slightest of aches in her body. Show couldn't remember the last time she felt nearly this rejuvenated. Maybe never. "Wow! That. Was. AMAZING! Why don't you mass produce this stuff? You'd save countless lives and make a fortune!"

"Probably end world hunger to boot." Videl nodded, her smile turning a little wistful. "If you don't exert yourself, one bean can keep you full and healthy for days. But only one person's successfully grown them and it's a time consuming process. Growing just a handful takes a while." She sighed, waving her sack for emphasis. "That's why they're for emergencies only. I'd say today definitely qualifies."

"Oh yeah. Especially now that those are running around." Monique nodded, turning a dark look toward the surviving head.

"Why would they matter? They're toast now." Trunks asked proudly, crossing his arms behind his head.

"I highly doubt that's the last of them. Last time Kim saw them, they'd learned to reproduce themselves." Monique explained, causing all three Sayians to tense up right before the head's mouth opened, sending chills down all four of their spines.

"The hive will not be stopped. Bebes are perfect."

Sadly, even Trunks smashing the head into pieces didn't relieve any of them of the sense of foreboding that gave them.

….

"Well, I suppose I should have expected more design flaws." Vlad mused as the head was stomped. Keeping himself invisible, he'd opted to stick around for the fight. After all, it wasn't often one got to see a Z Fighter in action and seeing one defeated was even rarer. More importantly, he'd wanted to assure his faith in the Bebes wasn't unfounded.

Overall, they appeared to be quite a success. Two of Drakken's fembots had almost taken a Saiyan down, even without a tail to grab. That was a feat of legend in itself and that only became a greater victory every day as the warrior race only continued to rapidly grow stronger. They were certainly worth the time Vlad took to correct their flawed programming. Had the children not arrived for a few more minutes, they would have actually won and moved on to the boys. They may have even won a three on two battle. But sadly, the robots appeared to lack battlefield awareness. Their narrow minded vision was a weakness that greater numbers found easy to exploit. Granted, if the boys had appeared at any earlier moment, when the Bebes were separated and noting more of their surroundings, it again could have ended very differently, but still, Vlad should have checked all of their programs more carefully.

"But no matter." He grinned to himself as he pulled out a remote and hit a big red button. "They still performed superbly with but two. If nothing else, the rest will be more than capable of keeping those three out of our way."

Floating into the sky, he took just a moment to check the crate he'd brought and smirked when he found it empty before taking off at top speed for a very distinct building.

Quickly arriving at Capsule Corp, a dark chuckle left his lips as he placed his hand flat on the roof without so much as a flicker of pain. Mr Briefs had already had the place set up with anti ghost defenses back in the days the Guardians were a well known team, but the virus had completely shut them down. He had no problems phasing inside.

"It's about time you got here." Bertrand grumbled the moment he was through. Vlad frowned at that. He was still invisible, only those who could actually sense ghost should have noticed his presence. Though the answer to that discovered the moment Bertrand dropped his own invisibility to reveal the form of a giant, green bat.

"Relax, my comrade. So far all is going according to plan. I was simply ensuring the last new details were adequate." Vlad replied, charming as ever.

"They better be." Bertrand scowled, turning back into his blob form as Vlad became visible again. "Word got out that a Z Fighter came back to town. Some of us are getting antsy."

"Well rest assured that all three alien freaks in the area are about to die." Vlad waved it off uncaringly.

"Be warned, we're charging extra for all the additional hassles you've given us." Bertrand declared, not looking the least bit convinced. "Next time we want something, you'll provide it without delay. Unless you want all your secrets revealed to the general public."

"A deal is a deal." Vlad accepted with a nod. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's one thing I'm curious to see here before you blow it up. And as there is no more need for communication between us at this point, I suppose I'll say farewell for now. When you want your favor, you know where to find me." Not that that would last for long.

Turning invisible and intangible again, Vlad sank through the floor continued on his way down. He took a few detours on the way, just to see how things were going, and he had to say, these fools were quick when they wanted to be. The place was quickly being stripped of anything useful or valuable that wasn't stuck to the ground, plenty of trucks were already being prepped to take off with the loot and almost all of the hostages had been gathered in the very centre of the building. Right next to a bomb.

"Wait, where is the Fenton girl?" Drakken's voice screeched, startling Vlad as he'd been about to leave. Taking another look around, a small frown cross his brow as he realized that the girl truly was nowhere in sight.

"I had to knock her out early. She's probably still slumped in tech boy's bathroom." Camille responded with an uncaring shrug.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go drag her down here!" Spectra snapped, surprising Vlad a little with her intensity. "I do not want that little brat out making a nuisance of herself. I want her strapped to that bomb!"

"Why bother? She's just a nosey nobody." Camille said, staring at her nails.

"BECAUSE SHE…because she is a ghost hunter with access to ectoplasmic weaponry and knows how to use it. That probably makes her the most dangerous hostage we have." Spectra answered, visibly forcing herself to calm down. "Just go get her!"

"Whatev's. I'll take a thug." Camille replied nonchalantly, snapping a finger in the air, a grunt in a black and red bodysuit immediately popping up behind her. "He can grab the brat while I look for some clothes more worthy of my body."

"Fine, whatever, just get her here." Spectra snapped as Camille strutted away.

'_Hmm, Maddie won't like that.'_ Vlad mused, watching over the scene a little longer as he pondered what just happened. He still couldn't help it. Even if his hopes of getting Maddie to be willingly his were crushed, he still had that picture of his greatest desire in his head and Jazz was a part of it. She was Maddie's daughter, as beautiful and witty as her mother and, most of all, another person he could take from Jack and another person he could use to keep Maddie and Daniel with him. In fact, now she was probably his best chance at getting them by his side, even if it was a forced situation. And even if that didn't work, taking her would make the Fentons hold back when he did make his next play on taking over the world. It was best for all of his hopes and plans if that girl survived.

However, Spectra seemed to have a grudge against her. That rage and the look in her eyes did not suggest a ghost's sense of self preservation near a competent ghost hunter, but a burning desire for vengeance. The two must have met before and clearly, Jazz came out on top. That meant that saving her would mean retribution from Spectra.

Well then, he'd just have to stick around a little longer than he'd intended and save her at the last minute. That was hardly an issue.

Deciding everything else was well in hand, Vlad simply went on his way down. Past the basement and a bunker and through the ground. However, right before he could make it to his destination, what felt like a bolt of lightning surged through his entire being, eliciting a bloodcurdling scream. It took every shred of willpower he had just to keep himself intangible as he was flung away, only just managing to direct himself into the underground hallway before collapsing, taking in deep, loud breaths as his powers gave out and reverted him back to his human form. His whole body feeling like it was on fire, it took almost all the strength he had just to stare at the door before him, clenching his teeth and moaning as every cell in his being was screaming in pain.

"B-butter biscuits!" Was all he could say before dropping his head, his body demanding rest. "T-this are-ea must have its o-own p-p-power source." And what a charge it was powering! He couldn't remember ever being shocked by a ghost shield that powerful. Whatever was in that room, Bulma was not taking any chances with it. What could be so important that she would go this far to protect it?

Sadly, that would have to remain a mystery for now. He couldn't get close to it and if any of his pawns tried, they'd be more likely to simply bring the place down on them than succeed. The only person who could open this quickly and safely was Bulma and, judging from what Vlad could already see of the security down here, letting her anywhere near it would most likely end disastrously. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she'd rigged the place with either more offensive measures or self-destructive ones. You never put in that much effort to hide and contain something without ensuring that it never got into the wrong hands. No, he'd have to give up on this for now.

That was quite disappointing. Especially since he was still reeling from the shock. He wasn't going anywhere for a while.

….

Henry truly couldn't remember the last time he'd struggled this much to fight off panic. Or when a situation seemed any more hopeless.

Getting the ropes off hadn't been too difficult. The ground was full of sharp, jagged pieces of rock and shrapnel for him to run them across. Once his wrists and arms were free, the rest took less than a second. Unfortunately, that was the only easy part.

Rising to his feet, Henry had placed his hands on the nearest wall and gone around the area multiple times, trying to feel for a gap. High and low, he'd slid his hands over every detail. He completely lost hope for an exit the first time around, but he'd pursued anyway, hoping his fingers could at least find an air hole. Sadly, he had no such luck.

As such, a panic attack was the absolute worst thing he could do right now. He had no idea how long he'd been down here, but he was confident that his air supply was already getting low.

Though that fact only made it harder to contain one. That ghost had no intention of coming back to save him. That much was obvious. He was also probably the only person who knew where he was and this far underground, there was no chance anyone would get here in time to save him. It'd be weeks before they got even close to him, if the ghost's claims on his location were true. There was far too much of a disaster above ground. Add in the fact that the place was forever creaking and groaning and you could forget waiting for help, Henry probably wouldn't survive long enough to suffocate.

'_Panicking won't help matters._' He reminded himself for had to be the fortieth time, letting himself take a single, deep, calming breath as he sat down, shifting into a meditative position. _'Calm down. Relax. Think this through. What options do I have left? What can I safely try?'_

Admittedly, that would be a lot easier to determine if he had so much as a speck of light down here. Everything had been pitch black ever since Bertrand left. While his eyes did glow when he concentrated on his power, that didn't alter his vision in any way, not that he'd risk gathering that much power down here. If he accidentally turned on one piece of miraculously still functioning tech anywhere around him, it could set off a cave in. That wasn't an option.

So since sight was useless, what else could he use? Touch had failed, the place was sealed tight. Which also made sound nothing but foreboding. Taste and smell were completely useless, so all five senses were out. Ok, so if nothing new could help him, what about something old? Could any of his previous experiences help him out now? He didn't think so. He'd been caged before, but never like this. His captors had always either wanted him alive or trapped him with his friends. And his weapons. And his pants, damn it! '_Ok, those aren't important right now, backtrack a little.'_

If his past was useless too, then he should focus on what he had, right? Ok, he had his underwear, enhanced physical abilities, an enhanced intellect and electromagnetic abilities that allowed him both to control machines and detect and move small amounts of metal. That's it.

Henry could only scowl at that. Normally, metal manipulation would be great in this scenario. Releasing a few small pulses, Henry could see that there was plenty of metal around, enough at least to shield himself if the place did come crashing down, probably enough to carve a hole to the surface, but he just wasn't powerful enough to use it. He could only move a little more than his own weight for a short period of time. He'd doubled his weight once when he got lost control of his anger, but that's the most he'd ever done. Wasn't it?

"Wait." A small frown crossed his face as his last fight crossed his mind. He'd moved more, hadn't he? He'd…flung a car, right? Or had he turned it on and used its own momentum to help. He wasn't sure, it all happened too fast, but…he didn't think so. Actually, while he was thinking about it, he'd broken through his limits a few times in that fight, didn't he? The fact that he'd fought at his usual level at all after straining his magnetic powers moving around so long was a testament to that all on its own, but…he'd gotten desperate and he'd pushed through his limits, hadn't he? Could…could he do it again? Could he go bigger?

Rising to his feet, Henry made his way back to the most stable wall he could find, took another deep breath to calm his nerves as best he could and slowly, carefully, released some weak pulses into the area.

It worked a lot like echolocation or sensing vibrations. The electromagnetic pulses sank into the world around him and showed his mind's eye every bit of metal in the area. Even metallic minerals in the soil, like nickel, stood out to him. Sighing in relief as nothing shifted, Henry took a moment to collect himself before trying again, this time pushing right to the limits of his range.

Those results came back a little more disappointing. It seemed that after a few meters, the amount of metal in the earth quickly receded. Even if his idea was possible, that would make it a lot more difficult and dangerous. But he'd worry about that later. First, he had to know if he could force himself to go further. So, planting his hands firmly against the wall, he clenched his teeth and concentrated on drawing every bit of power he could and sent out another pulse, hit his range and growled as he forced himself to push harder, his eyes growing from his usual faint glow to one so intense that for just a second, he could see it bouncing off the wall.

"Come on, come on, come ON!" He snapped, actually snarling at the wall. The pressure was building in head fast, promising a migraine, but no matter how hard he focused, he just wasn't seeing any further. He couldn't understand it. He had to have the power, if he could move heavier metal than he'd thought, then he had to be able to sense more of it out too. He had too. It all came from the same source. He had to be able to do this. But he was focusing so much, his head was really starting to scream at him and he wasn't getting any further than before. Why wasn't it working? Why couldn't he release more energy? It was there, it was hurting him, it just needed to GET THE HELL OUT!

It was at that moment that it happened. The growing pain in his head, his frustration, his panic and his desperation, it all became too much for Henry to contain. Riling himself up as much as he could, he let go of all mental restraint and slammed everything he had out into a scream, causing the whole area to rattle as the gathered power exploded from his mind along with it. Enough so that the range of his pulse doubled. "YES! This is…this is amazing. YES!" His head hurt like hell, but he didn't care. A huge smile burst onto his face as he laughed and cheered, letting himself fall to the ground and relax his body and mind. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it! He'd gone further than ever before. What was even better was that he hadn't lost control of his power. In retrospect, it was terrifying that he'd let his mental barriers shatter now of all times, but he did it and his power had not only increased, but stayed in control. It was amazing, absolutely amazing! And to make it even better, he'd succeeded at the most important thing. He'd found a way out and one much closer than digging to the surface. He could escape. This still was going to be crazy dangerous, but he had a genuine possibility of living and he was going to take it. Whatever it takes, he was getting out of here.

Needing to take a bit of time and a few bigger, slow breaths to calm his body down anyway, Henry just laid there for a few moments pondering his new hope. He could only speculate, but he was pretty sure that it was an underground tunnel or a sewage system. He couldn't be sure, he wasn't working with something he'd seen, but something that was missing.

Most sources of earth at least had metallic ore minerals, especially rock, like the ones surrounding him and his ability could find it all. In his current situation, searching for metal made rocks look like stars in the sky. As such, the large, blank area had to devoid of them, especially when it had such a long, perfect shape. That was something manmade.

However, that didn't mean that it would save him. He could only see so far and only the metal and its absence. The passageway could be blocked. It could be flooded. Or it could simply be too protected for him to access it. He could end up bringing his whole prison down without even succeeding to make an opening, he could get himself drowned or just find a new place to suffocate in. This was a huge risk, even if he could generate enough magnetic force to rip walls apart.

"But at least I'll have tried." He muttered, pulling himself back to his feet, taking in one last, long breath before narrowing his eyes toward the wall. "To do nothing is to die anyway, so I might as well…go…FOR IT!"

Calling on his power once more, he only waited long enough to rip some metal from the ground and wrap it around each wrist and ankle before letting out a furious scream and thrusting his hand straight at his target, completely disregarding every urge to restrain himself and letting his emotions run as wild as his power.

The results were immediate. Every fibre of his being felt like it was slowly being ripped apart, but the power being unleashed was like nothing Henry ever dared to believe he was capable of. The wall practically imploded in an instant, all the metal spinning viciously against stone and carving everything out of its way. The roof collapsed half a second later with a thunderous crash, but all that touched Henry was lightly pouring soil. Everything else was blocked by the green glow that was Henry's power forming a swirling sphere around him. The power attracted and held all the metal coming down and used it to block the earth just long enough for Henry to dive into the newly forming tunnel. He didn't stop there, however. Even as the old space was consumed, he simply forced metal behind him to block the entrance while all of it before him continued to dig. Every rock before him was weakened as he pulled the metallic minerals from them, breaking them down from the inside and adding to the metal he had to worked with. Every large piece of metal was either ripped out of place or curved aside, something that was made much easier thanks to it already being damaged. He was doing so good. He'd only had to get through two meters and already done one and a half. He was almost there.

"GAAHH!" Though his body was not taking it very well. He couldn't help but cry out as his whole body spasmed. He still had more power, he could feel it, but it hurt so much to use it. He felt like every cell was on fire. It was so bad that broke his focus and caused an all new level of panic as the place started collapsing on him and force his power back into action. His next gasp only made it grow again as he realized just how low on air he actually was. Fortunately, that did still a favorable result, as his panic and adrenaline overrode his pain and with one last scream, his power surged once more and broke right through the wall.

And immediately started flooding his tunnel with water.

'_A sewer system or storm drain, then.'_ Henry thought, struggling to take a deep breath before the place filled. _'That's gross, but fine. It's probably for the best.'_ Grateful he managed to get a full pair of lungs, Henry finally let his death grip on his power go before recalling just enough to move his makeshift bracelets and anklets. With them pulling him, he had no trouble shooting to the water's surface and onto a dry walkway where he promptly flopped down, leaning bonelessly against a mercifully solid wall and almost hyperventilated as he tried to get enough air into his burning body.

"Well…I hurt like…crazy…I'm wet, I…smell awful and I…am really, really exhausted. But…" He added, opening his tired eyes as a relieved smile slowly grew on his face. "I made it out. I'm alive."

He wasn't moving for a bit, but that was ok. He could rest now. No one would blame him. And the sound of running water was really soothing.

"…Man, do I stink." He realized things were bad right now, but after all he went through, would it be alright if he got a shower and a bath before he went out to face it all again? The universe could wait an hour, just this once, right?


End file.
